


The Mourning Mermaid

by Sea_Lily_Bell



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, カエルの為に鐘は鳴る | Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru | For the Frog the Bell Tolls
Genre: Depression, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Future Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Headcanon, Implied/Referenced Torture, Literary References & Allusions, Little Mermaid Elements, Morally Ambiguous Character, Princes & Princesses, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-03 07:23:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21175613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sea_Lily_Bell/pseuds/Sea_Lily_Bell
Summary: Prince Richard would always remember the fairy-tale his grandfather had read to him as a small child; the true story of the Little Mermaid, a tale of unrequited love and selfless sacrifice. As he grew older, he would come to realize that he identified more with the tragic heroine than his pride would ever allow him to admit.





	1. Unrequited Love

The mermaid statue watched over Martha’s Bay with a longing expression on her face. Richard had been up all morning trying to mould her face into the right shape but he was never satisfied. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, as the morning sun peeked over the horizon at dawn, casting its light over the glittering waves.

\- “Isn’t this situation ironic?” asked the mermaid who was sitting elegantly on the rock at the bay. He had ordered her to keep that posture three hours ago but she couldn’t help but let out a loud and unladylike yawn.

Richard didn’t hear his model’s question because he was too focused on shaping the eyes of the statue. He still remembered the melancholic statue he had seen on a trip to Denmark as a small child. The mermaid rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen had captivated him and remained etched in his memories. His memories of the outside world.

_The outside world…_

It still hurt to think about it in those terms. That the outside world would keep going even after his lifetime was over, as the small isolated bubble of the dreaming island would pop and meet with its tragic fate. The realization that his existence was but a tiny dot in the universe.

To think that he had once worn his royal cape so proudly and looked out from the castle’s tower, where he would see the villagers in the distance, scurrying around with their everyday lives. From his perspective they had all looked so small. The world was his oyster. Now it felt naïve, almost childish, those narcissistic thoughts that he had. Prince Richard had believed that he was shining brighter than the diamonds lighting up the night sky.

\- “A handsome prince gazing upon a statue of a mermaid, with eyes full of yearning.” sighed the mermaid wistfully when Richard didn’t answer her question. “Shouldn’t it be the mermaid who looks upon the prince’s statue in a sunken ship full of exotic treasure, while longing for the world above the sea?”

Richard finally spared the mermaid a glance and looked up from his creation. The eyes of the statue didn’t look like _her_ eyes. The ocean blue eyes of his beautiful princess. Except she had never really been _his_. Now she would wake up in the morning next to another man and greet him with a sweet good-morning kiss on the cheek. The very same man who had promised Richard eternal companionship that fateful day at the pier. It was almost like he had known that this would be their last encounter, as Richard’s ship sailed off into the horizon.

The statue’s eyes looked just like his own eyes in the morning, after waking up in a sea of sweat after yet another night plagued by _nightmares._ Those dark and unhinged thoughts always crept up on him in the morning when his whole body felt numb, like he was falling down into an endless abyss of despair. It was almost like he was counting the days before his execution just like King Richard II in the Shakespearean play. Grandpa must have had a wicked sense of humour, having suggested the name for the newborn prince.

\- “I am not a prince anymore.” Richard responded, with his eyes downcast.

He reached into his pocket and fished up a tiny magnifying glass. To think that the fate of the island would depend on such a small object. It was probably unnecessary to put so much effort into designing the statue that would cover up the hole in which his shameful secrets were to be buried. Maybe he was still a little bit of a show-off after all. Richard smirked to himself.

Schule had been gladly willing to take the credit for the statue when Richard had been too ashamed to expose his vulnerable side to the world. Even though Schule couldn’t create art to save his life. The first time he had shown Richard his “abstract” painting of the seductive hippopotamus he had mistaken it for a portrait of Dethl, the dark lord the Nightmares. Despite himself, a small smile appeared on his lips.

\- “Has anyone ever told you that you are much more handsome when you smile?” giggled the mermaid girlishly as she disappeared into the ocean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was a little girl, my favourite anime movie was "Andersen Dowa: Ningyo Hime" which is an old and faithful adaption of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid. Even though it has never been confirmed, I have always thought that Marin from Link's Awakening resembled the mermaid since they both have similar names (Marin = Marina?) and stories. When Link chooses Zelda over Marin, she dies and is reincarnated as a bird just like how the mermaid becomes the daughter of the air at the end. 
> 
> But I think the themes of unrequited love and selfless sacrifice present in the original Little Mermaid also fit Prince Richard just as well if not even better, with his unrequited love for the princess and how quietly he disappears in the end after having accepted his fate even if it might seem unfair. At one point in the story the mermaid also defies the gender roles and dresses up in a blue prince outfit with matching white pants. Coincidence?


	2. Best of Cruel Intentions

Richard still remembered the day when he had first met the songstress of Koholint Island when they were both still children.

Some monsters had been causing trouble for the villagers and he had been tasked with chasing them out of town together with his men. It had been the young prince’s first mission.

Although if he would have been allowed to choose, he would much rather have waited at home. He had just begun working on his latest creation, a bronze statue. He hadn’t decided what it would become yet but he wanted to challenge himself by trying to work with a different type of material.

However, his strict mentor Captain Viscen wouldn’t allow the prince to indulge in such nonsensical hobbies. A prince’s duty is to protect peace and uphold justice. The captain had wondered if the young prince intended to rescue the damsels in distress or become one himself. The small prince had nodded and pretended to understand even though he had no idea what the soldier was talking about.

Despite his flaws, Captain Viscen also had a kind side. Once he had saved a disabled old man from a pack of Moblins. The monsters had taken the poor old man hostage and demanded a ransom of nine thousand rupees in exchange for his life. As the old man shook in terror, Captain Viscen had swiftly executed every single monster with one strike of his spiked iron ball. Monsters never bled like humans and animals did, they just faded into a dark cloud of malice.

After the traumatic experience the old man had lost his voice. He wouldn’t utter a single word for months. He wouldn’t tell jokes anymore or complain about his aching back. The only time he spoke was when he would whisper into his wife´s ear, when nobody else was around.

Curious and always willing to seek out the truth, the young prince had looked for information about the old man’s illness in the royal library. He had eventually found a thick encyclopaedia in which he learned the word for the old man’s unfortunate condition:

_Selective mutism - an anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech cannot speak in specific situations or to specific people. Selective mutism usually co-exists with shyness or social anxiety._

The young prince couldn’t find a better description for the kind but shy old man whom everybody called Grandpa Ulrira. Except one day, the old man’s silence was broken during a moment when the young prince would least have expected it.

Unfortunately, the young prince had gotten lost in the Mysterious Forest during his first mission. He had walked around in circles for hours until he finally found his way out of the woods and reached a telephone booth.

The telephone booths had been one of the many new commodities the rich and industrialized neighbouring kingdom had introduced to the small isolated island. Prince Richard had been opposed to the idea. He had seen the smog filling up the air and the stressed out people with tired eyes on his trip to the Sablé Kingdom.

_If only the island would remain in its pure pristine state, nothing would ever have to change._

Besides the prince of the Sablé Kingdom must have been the most spoiled brat he had ever encountered! Richard had very much preferred to spend his day alone in his atelier or take a pleasant stroll at the Toronbo Beach while listening to the soothing sound of the waves as the sun warmed his face. He couldn’t stand the other prince’s high pitched voice over the phone, bragging about his riches and material possessions. Being forced to spend time with him in person was already tiresome enough, without him constantly calling him.

However, this time he had been a little bit grateful for the modern inventions the Sablé Kingdom had blessed them with. Although he would never tell, he had actually been really scared, having felt truly alone and helpless for the first time in his life.

Even though he had brought it upon himself, when he saw the perfect opportunity to sneak off during the commotion caused by the monsters during his first mission in Mabe Village. Truth to be told, no matter how many golden trophies he had won during his many fencing tournaments, he had never taken a life, neither monster nor man. When the young prince thought about killing an intelligent creature capable of speech, _no matter how evil_, his stomach hurt.

As he finally made his way into the phone booth and picked up the receiver, hoping to call his grandfather to come pick him up, he instead heard an unfamiliar voice. It sounded raspy and the words jumbled together.

\- “Sir, could you articulate, please?” sighed the young prince who felt more frustrated than scared at this point.

\- “T-t-the songstress…” mumbled the voice. “In the village full of animals…” A cough could be heard on the end of the other line.

\- “Is that you, Mr. Ulrira?” Richard furrowed his brows.

\- “The monsters took her to the Animal Village…” the old man was crying now. “Please don’t let her witness such violence! Please don’t let the soldiers find them…!”

\- “Hey! What is going on? Answer me!” Richard yelled as the phone went silent.

With his heart beating out of his chest, the young prince had rushed towards the Animal Village. What was it about the soldiers that the old man had feared? A million questions ran through his mind and he felt a pit in his stomach.

When he finally arrived at the Animal Village, he was greeted with an unexpected sight. A beautiful young maiden with flowers braided into her strawberry blonde hair, surrounded by creatures of various sizes and colours. Each one a unique individual. Monsters and animals alike rested peacefully on top of the flowerbed as the girl sang a soothing ballad. She had a voice that would make the angels cry. Suddenly the young prince felt something hot and wet running down his cheeks.

The songstress finally noticed him and let out a surprised noise. She sat up and reached into her skirt pocket to pull out a soft silk handkerchief with a seagull embroidered on it. She was little older than him and about a head taller.

\- “What is the matter, dear? Why are you crying?” Marin asked with her voice full of worry, as she stroked his cheeks in the same way a mother would do to soothe a crying child.

That was the day when Prince Richard decided that the monsters, animals and humans of Koholint Island would all live together in peace.

The monsters would have limited political power but they would still play an important role in protecting the island’s holy instruments from the evil outside force that was mentioned in the ancient mural of the Southern Face Shrine. Grandpa had told him to keep it a secret from everyone, so he had left that part out when he explained the situation to the infuriated Captain Viscen. He had refused at first but he had eventually come to understand that the monsters’ abilities could be put to good use, in a way that would benefit everyone on the island.

_ Oh, how naïve the young prince had been!_

Older and wiser, Richard who was no longer called Prince Richard would think about the person he had once been, the young prince who had wanted to believe in the idea of a safe paradise for everybody regardless of race.

Years later he had finally picked up the bronze statue he had been forced to abandon and coloured it black with piercing golden eyes. A soldier's helmet. Creating art of the people who had betrayed him during his most vulnerable moments might have seemed a little bit ironic but Captain Viscen had occupied his mind ever since he had escaped from his prison cell at his former castle with a broken ribcage and blood gushing out of his fresh wounds.

All because of the key to the Key Cavern where the Nightmares and their monster allies had hidden the holy church bell of the royal family. The Sea Lily’s Bell that would toll to announce the tragic but inevitable fate of his doomed kingdom. Richard had buried the key in the soil behind his villa which he had secretly built in order to get some peace and quiet while working on his art projects.

During his imprisonment he had refused to utter a single word about the key’s whereabouts. He had eventually managed to escape after a whole week of torture, both physical and mental. The former prince didn’t even want to recall the events that took place at the castle after the information had leaked out; that he was willingly helping the castaway by hiding the key. He just wanted to suppress the painful memories.

Richard wasn’t sure who was a monster anymore or what was right or wrong. Maybe there is a _monster_ hiding inside all of us, waiting to be _awakened. _

The only thing he knew for sure was that he was _very, very scared._

Not that he would ever admit it out loud. He had much rather be remembered as the posh and arrogant Prince Richard than receiving needless pity from a stranger with pointy ears and a funny hat.

… Actually that hat looked kind of comfortable. He wanted one of his own. Maybe it would help him feel a little bit braver.

When the elf boy in green eventually returned with his hands full of golden leaves, he had mentioned that he had been taken by surprise by Captain Viscen. After his death, the once proud and loyal soldier, didn’t leave a corpse behind, he had only disappeared into a dark cloud of malice. During all of his adventures, the elf had never witnessed this phenomenon happen to another human being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed Captain Viscen's name from Majora's Mask since Richard's knight doesn't have a canon name. I have always thought that it was interesting how Captain Viscen is the person who wants to save everybody by suggesting that everybody should evacuate but it is also because of him that the carpenter Mutoh can't finish building the tower which is the reason why most new players get the bad ending during their first playthrough. Captain Viscen's intentions are pure but he accidentally brings doom upon the people he was trying to protect. Fate has a cruel sense of irony.


	3. White Lies

\- “Thief! What are you doing!?” yelled Marin. 

\- “What is it now?” sighed Link somewhat annoyed.

When exploring the beach together Marin and Link had come across an abandoned cottage by the sea. The roof was about to cave in and the floor looked like it was about to fall apart. Marin had been unsure about entering the spooky house but when she heard the loud noise of ceramic pots being broken, she just had to have a word with the mischievous kleptomaniac.

\- “I’m sure nobody is going to miss these pots anyway. This house looks like it has been empty for a long time.” said the thief while picking up the shiny rupees scattered across floor while carefully avoiding the cracks.

\- “But what about the flower?” Marin countered and pointed at an orange hibiscus standing next to a dusty bed. “How did it grow and flourish so vividly without water and sunlight if nobody lives here?”

The tall hibiscus clashed with the rest of the furniture which looked jaded and was covered in a thick layer of dust. An old backpack rested on top of the counter together with a compass and a map. They caught Link’s eye, causing him to abandon his treasure hunt.

\- “I guess these items won’t be going on any adventures anytime soon.” Link mumbled, as his eyes suddenly darkened.

\- “Maybe the owner’s ghost will come back to haunt you because you broke his pots!” joked Marin, trying to lighten up the mood.

Link hadn’t told Marin what he had witnessed at the Southern Face Shrine. Their date had started out with a fun day at the beach and ended in tragedy as they had come across the ancient ruins of Koholint Island. Thankfully Marin had been too afraid to enter the shrine together with him. His heart broke into a thousand pieces when he exited the shrine and saw Marin sitting on the steps, smiling and blissfully unaware of the cold hard truth.

The mysterious owl had showed up like he always did and admitted that he had known about the existence of the shrine all along. Link wasn’t sure how to react and looked back and forth between the clueless Marin and the dishonest owl. The wise bird was trying to convince Link that the message in the shrine might not have been true but now it just sounded like _white lies_.

Marin had stayed quiet until the owl had finished his speech and flew away before Link had time to ask him any questions. Normally Link would have been grateful if the owl had shortened down his unnecessary long speeches but today it felt like he had intentionally left him hanging.

Link looked at Marin and opened his mouth to say something but not a single word escaped his lips. What do you say to somebody who has just found out that her whole existence is a lie?

\- “Link! I thought you were never going to come back! Are you hurt?” the worried songstress asked in her usual motherly tone.

Link had been so confused by her reaction that he didn’t know how to respond. Had she not understood what was going to happen to her and everybody on the island? Did she believe in the owl’s white lies? Was she just shocked and in denial?

_Why did she still worry about Link at a time like this?_

Link swallowed hard and felt the guilt and sadness washing over him. It felt like somebody had just punched him in the stomach.

_Did she really love him that much?_

Link woke up from his flashback when Marin grabbed onto his arm and whispered into his ear.

\- “Quick! Somebody is coming! We need to hide!” Marin hissed and pulled Link down under the bed.

Link felt his cheeks burning as Marin crept up closer to him so that they could both fit into the cramped space under the bed. He felt a pang of guilt as he remembered Princess Zelda back at home, waiting for him. His lovely princess was probably worried sick and trying to contact him through telepathy, not knowing that the unconscious hero was still asleep on top of the remains of his boat, in the middle of the ocean.

Was it really cheating if Marin wasn’t real? He immediately felt bad for thinking about Marin like that. She wasn’t an object! Her feelings and dreams were real.

The door creaked loudly as an unknown figure entered the house. He looked around the empty room and sighed as he noticed the mess on the floor. Marin held up a finger to her mouth and hushed, telling Link to be quiet. She peeked under the dusty blanket, while trying her hardest not to sneeze and caught a glimpse of the stranger who had entered the house. He had ocean blue hair and eyes and wore a flashy white cape with golden embroidery. Even though Marin hadn’t seen the prince since he was a child, she instantly recognized him.

There was something strange about the way he moved though. His movements were slow and his posture was sloppy. He almost didn’t look like himself. Even though he was younger than her, he looked old and tired with grey bags under his eyes and his hair in an unruly mess.

As Richard picked up the shards on the floor, a sob suddenly escaped him. He dropped the broken shards onto the floor and hugged himself as sad bitter tears ran down his cheeks. Marin felt her throat dry up and Link had a guilty look on his face.

Eventually, the former prince stood up and tried to dust off his fancy clothes. Despite everything he still hadn’t lost his vanity. He walked up to the orange hibiscus and whispered under his breath.

\- “I’m sorry, Nakura. I forgot the watering can at home. I promise that I will come back tomorrow.”

As the former prince staggered out of the door, all that could be heard was the wind, the crashing sound of the waves and the quiet sobs of an anxious little ghost who had once been a brave soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ghost's name is Nakura in the official manga adaption of Link's Awakening by Ataru Cagiva. According to his backstory in the manga, he was a soldier when he was still alive. Was he one of Prince Richard's soldiers?


	4. Eyes of Sorrow

One night Prince Richard dreamt that he was a frog. A frog with large sorrowful eyes living in a desolate frozen land. Normally he had to avoid low temperatures when he was transformed but for some reason he felt right at home.

From across the ice, he heard a croak. In the distance he saw a slightly bigger frog standing upright, wearing a pink cape that looked very heroic when it blew in the wind. The frog prince felt tears welling up in his large eyes and hopped towards his friend. How he had missed him! He didn’t care if it was embarrassing or sappy; he just wanted to see him again so badly.

But before he could reach him, a large sea creature approached him. He had large whiskers and a crown on top of his head. The king of the frozen land. He almost looked like a Zora but something seemed off about him. He wasn’t green and didn’t seem hostile.

The Zora King picked up Richard and put him inside a small bottle. He yelled the other prince’s name and tried to break free but to no avail.

Then he saw a familiar elf boy in green. Except he wasn’t a young boy anymore, he looked much older and had a frown on his face. The Zora King said something to Link that Richard couldn’t hear from inside the bottle and the elf made a disgusted face.

\- “Isn’t there another way?” asked the older version of Link. 

\- “I thought you wanted to fix your broken sword.” replied the large king and raised an eyebrow. 

\- “I still have the Master Sword. I think this is a bad idea.” Link retorted and turned around to leave.

Richard wasn’t sure what was going on but for some reason he felt relieved. It felt like he had just escaped the grim reaper’s clutches.

\- “But what if you lose the Master Sword? Will you be able to defeat Ganon?” asked the Zora King with tears in his eyes. “Our people have suffered enough! Many lives were lost when the Zora’s Domain froze; even women and children were hurt!”

Richard looked around and saw several Zora families cuddling up together for warmth. His eyes met with a Zora child who looked hungry and cold. That was the moment when Richard suddenly regained his strength and broke out of the bottle as the surprised king let out a shriek.

He finally caught up with the adult Link and stared at him with pleading eyes. Link swallowed and hesitantly picked him up. Richard was so tiny that he fit into the palm of his hand.

\- “Do you intend to sacrifice yourself?” Link asked with a sad look in his eyes.

The hero had stuffed him into his tunic and hopped onto his trusty steed. Richard felt sick, like he was slowly melting. Finally, they reached a laboratory next to a large lake. Since the passage had been frozen over, Link had to take a detour and ride across Hyrule. At this point the frog prince was panting heavily and felt like he had one foot in the grave.

A strange looking man with pointy teeth stood next to a table filled with laboratory equipment. The ugly man smiled and said something about frog eyes being a delicacy. A bitter memory of the vile Delarin and his men who had captured some of his inexperienced soldiers and boiled them in a pot one by one while laughing appeared in his mind. Richard tried to run but his frog body felt heavy and wouldn’t obey him.

\- “I will remove the eyes. That should be enough to make the eye drops that will fix the blacksmith’s eyesight.” explained the scientist as he stroked his beard.

Richard felt an intense pain as the world went black. He could hear the muffled sobs of the elf. Even though he was a grown man, he still cried.

\- “It’s just a frog.” said the scientist and shrugged. “It had very beautiful eyes though.”

Richard felt his mind slipping, like he was falling down into an endless dark abyss. An image flashed in his mind, where Link had failed to deliver the eye drops in time over and over again until he finally gave up.

Then he saw an image of a dark castle collapsing with a giant boar monster standing in the middle of the rubble. The ferocious beast had taken the hero by surprise and swatted the Master Sword out of his hands. The brave elf had tried to fight back with his other broken sword but the beast had easily overpowered him. As the evil king’s giant golden swords dug into the doomed hero's abdomen, the beautiful princess’ screams echoed in the darkness.

That was the fateful day when Hyrule had entered a new age, the era of light and darkness. Many years of war followed and the relationship between the Zoras and the humans had soured because the Zora King could never truly forgive the hero’s failures.

Richard heard the Prince of Sablé’s words echo in his mind. The words he had yelled when the frog prince had leaped forward with the intent on sacrificing himself to defeat Delarin and avenge his fallen soldiers once and for all. The soldiers whose families would get their husband, father and friend back in a coffin.

\- “You will die a pointless death as a frog!” cried the Prince of Sablé.

This caused Richard to stop for a moment. He didn’t want to die in vain; he wanted to be remembered as a hero who had sacrificed himself to protect his people. He shut his eyes and thought about the ancient mural at the Southern Face Shrine. But what if he couldn’t save his people? What if their fate had been decided from the start?

While the tiny frog prince was lost in his thoughts, the other prince had grabbed him and held him close to his chest. Richard suddenly felt calm, as he listened to his saviour’s heartbeat. He felt safe and warm in the prince’s embrace. When was the last time somebody had hugged him?

\- “I couldn’t bear losing you.” sobbed the Prince of Sablé. “I care about you, Richard. You are my dearest friend.”

Even though he just had an awful nightmare, Richard felt peaceful when he woke up that morning. He walked out of his villa and looked up at the sun. The birds chirped and the pleasant smell of the tropical flowers filled the air.

Richard put up his easel and started painting his old castle that had given him many bad memories but also so many good memories in the past. When Richard closed his eyes he could see himself and his friend Prince Comal of the Sablé Kingdom running down the halls, playing hide and seek while laughing as the strict Captain Viscen told them to quiet down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ocarina of Time is written by Toru Osawa who was also the director of For the Frog the Bell Tolls. Ocarina of Time features a side quest where Link has to sacrifice a frog in order to repair his broken sword. Could it be a reference to Prince Richard's tragic fate in Link's Awakening?


	5. Unconditional Love

Prince Comal was tired of this game of hide and seek. They weren’t children anymore and he was way too old for it.

  
At first he thought that it was natural that Richard had been sad. After all, being forced to watch your so called best friend make out with the woman you loved and have made countless of sacrifices for, would probably be painful for anybody. Especially if said best friend didn’t truly love her.

  
The whole kingdom had been ecstatic when preparing for the royal wedding. Everybody but the main character himself, the Prince of Sablé. He wouldn’t lie, the princess was very attractive. Superficially speaking, at least. She was a little bit selfish and used to getting what she wanted. Richard and her other allies from the Custard Kingdom had probably spoiled her too much.

  
Sometimes he wondered if she just wanted to keep the money she had forced him to give to her as payment for the potion that would turn him back into a human again. In hindsight, he realized that she never gave back the money she stole from him.

  
When he had confronted her, she tried to excuse herself by saying that she had to keep it for the time being so that the Prince of Sablé would have some kind of motivation to embark on a quest to find the Snake Killer. If he had just repaired the bell without mining for gold, he would never have found the Snake Killer and Prince Richard would probably have been eaten by the vile snake. This silenced Prince Comal but he wasn’t sure if he really trusted her. But then again, Richard was safe thanks to her plan and that was all that mattered in the end.

  
Richard must really have been head over heels for Princess Tiramisu. Even though he was so vain, he had willingly let his beloved princess transform him into a frog and agreed to a plan involving him and his soldiers putting their lives on the line while the witch princess and her pet vulture comfortably leaned back.

  
Despite her flaws, Richard had hearts in his eyes every time he saw her. Prince Comal couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous. He wondered what it would be like to love somebody so much that even their flaws seemed cute in their imperfection. Maybe the reason he had envied their relationship wasn’t because he had feelings for her but because he wanted to feel what Richard had felt for the princess.

  
_Unconditional love._

  
Jam and Madeline had showed up together to help with the wedding preparations. Prince Comal had been genuinely surprised to see them together. Why would a beautiful and polite girl like Madeline associate with a thief like Jam?

  
At first, Madeline’s father had just wanted to invite Jam over for dinner to thank him from rescuing his daughter from the Croakians but Jam and Madeline hit off really well and started seeing each other more often. They started dating and one thing lead to the other. Now they were engaged and couldn’t stop looking at each other.

  
Apparently, Jam had an ulterior motive behind his actions. He had seven siblings that he had to take care of, so when he saw the Prince of Sablé and mistook him for a Croakian he had decided to kill two birds with one stone and secure the future of his family. Madeline had been so impressed by his pure and unconditional love for his family.

  
Prince Comal, the robbery victim, wasn’t sure if he agreed but all that mattered was that Madeline was happy. He shuddered when he thought about what the Croakians could have done to her if he and Jam hadn’t been there.

  
He still felt sick to his stomach when he thought about the little girl at the shop who looked like Little Red Riding Hood and what despicable things the Croakians did to her. What kind of monster would do that to a small child? He really wanted her to talk to a professional about her traumatic experiences but he didn’t want to push her before she was ready to talk about it.

  
Jam and Madeline were so busy kissing that they almost knocked over the giant wedding cake. His father, the king of the Sablé Kingdom had been infuriated because he wanted to beat the world record for the biggest wedding cake and had spent a lot of money on it in order to show off his wealth. The cake was covered in real gold and didn’t look all that tasty but apparently that wasn’t important. He had also hired the most popular musicians but neither Prince Comal nor Princess Tiramisu had ever listened to their songs.

  
Prince Comal would have preferred to have a smaller and more private wedding but nobody asked for his opinions. He just wanted to invite his parents, Madeline, Jam and Richard. Maybe Richard could make the wedding preparations instead. He had artistic talent and was musically gifted. Even if he didn’t look like the type he knew how to play the harp and had a really beautiful singing voice.

  
\- “Just one of the many talents of a nobleman.” had Richard responded and stuck his handsome nose up in the air but the Prince of Sablé could tell that he was secretly happy about the compliment.

  
Over nine thousand guests would attend the wedding but the only one that Prince Comal wanted to invite, was nowhere to be seen. He had tried to call Richard on the phone but nobody picked up. Even if he understood that he might not want to attend the wedding, he didn’t have to give him the cold shoulder. When they had parted ways at the pier Richard said that they could still be friends, so it was weird that he was suddenly ignoring him.

  
As the days passed, Prince Comal couldn’t help but worry. What if something had happened to him? The Custard Kingdom consisted of a small group of archipelagos. The capital Koholint Island was closed off from the rest of the world and located in the middle of the ocean. When Prince Comal had invited Richard over as a child he had been confused and scared by all the technological advancements. Richard had never even seen a phone or a car in his whole life before coming to the Sablé Kingdom.

  
They also put up dream catchers in their homes to ward off nightmares and worshipped a giant egg with pink polka dots that would bring upon the end of the world if it hatched. All of this just seemed very strange to Prince Comal but religion was complicated so he tried his best not to be judgemental.

  
Prince Comal was woken up from his daydreams when the small advisor, Polnareff rushed into the room and knocked over the wedding cake which landed on the king’s face. Laughter echoed across the hall, as the infuriated king tried to wipe off the cream that got stuck in his beard. However, Polnareff paid him no mind; he was stuttering and could barely form a sentence.

\- “Polnareff, my dear! What is the matter?” said Princess Tiramisu who had hurriedly entered the room the moment she heard about the incident with the cake.

The princess kneeled down to talk to him on his level, like a mother would do to a child. The Prince of Sablé had later learned that he was actually her pet vulture turned into a human, not the other way around. No wonder she spoiled him so much. But then again she didn’t really have any other friends so Prince Comal had to tolerate him. He was actually quite skilled in combat, so much so that the prince couldn’t help but wonder why he couldn’t just protect the princess on his own.

  
\- “There is a giant whale coming our way!” screamed Polnareff so loudly that the whole room went silent.

Prince Comal couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous statement. Maybe the advisor had too many glasses of wine?

\- “What do you mean, sweetie?” the princess furrowed her brows.

\- “Just go to the balcony and see for yourself!” the small advisor yelled and pointed in the direction of the sea.

As the royal couple arrived at the balcony, they couldn’t believe their eyes. A giant whale with grotesque snake-like parasites sticking out of its body was seen in the distance. Dark thunderclouds covered the sky and the waves were high. Prince Comal felt his blood run cold and the princess looked pale.

  
\- “The Custard Kingdom is in that direction!” cried Princess Tiramisu. “Quick, honey! Get the Snake Killer!”

  
Prince Comal swallowed hard. Maybe he had misjudged her, she sounded genuinely worried about Richard’s well-being. He had never seen her cry before.

  
\- “But when Richard isn’t here it doesn’t work…” mumbled the Prince of Sablé with a shameful expression on his face.

  
He was really useless on his own, wasn’t he? Even with a beautiful wife and all the riches in the world, he still couldn’t surpass the handsome prince from the sea. The realization struck him that Richard always would be there, that Richard was eternal. But was the Richard in his mind the real Richard or just the personification of his own negative and insecure thoughts?

  
\- “We need to get the ship ready.” said Princess Tiramisu suddenly calm and professional again. “We have to set sail to Koholint Island and ensure the safety of our oldest and most loyal ally.”


	6. Memories

Link stood in front of a large gaping hole. He had waded through the cold water for what seemed like hours and couldn’t feel his toes anymore. Even if he had found the instructions in the library, he kept getting lost. It was hard to concentrate because his own dark thoughts were clouding his mind.

The water inside of the Wind Fish’s Egg was gross and sticky. It felt a little ironic to be wading through amniotic fluid when so many people would meet with their tragic fate after he had finished off the last Nightmare.

He was ashamed to admit it but he just wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He hadn’t even said goodbye to Marin because he was worried that he would lose face if he looked her in the eye. Even if he couldn’t give her the salvation she deserved, at least he could give her a painless end. She would sing her swan song and fade away peacefully without ever knowing the truth. After all, Link knew by experience how much it hurt to be betrayed and abandoned by the people you loved.

The wise owl had told him that the Wind Fish’s spirit was slowly dying in his sleep. In the end, the Nightmare’s desperate struggle had all been for naught since they would still disappear if their creator passed away in his sleep. Maybe he should feel relieved that he wasn’t committing an immoral act by waking up the Wind Fish, but he just felt empty on the inside. Link couldn’t help but admire the Nightmares’ tenacity. What gave them the strength to keep fighting in the face of hopelessness?

The small elf mustered up all of his courage and jumped into the hole. Unfortunately he slipped and twisted his ankle. The hero screamed in pain as the cold water filled his lungs and he felt his consciousness slip away.

When he woke up he was in an isolated chamber. Could this be the stage where the fateful final battle would take place? Link couldn’t help but wonder how spacious this egg actually was but he had to remind himself that this was all just a dream. Even if he had grown fond of the paradise island and its many strange inhabitants, he really missed home. He closed his eyes and recalled a memory of his beloved princess.

It was a calm and peaceful morning. Spring had finally arrived, the flowers were budding and the small birds were busy building their nests. Link had prepared a surprise for his beloved princess’s birthday.

Last night he had slipped out of bed, careful not to wake up the sleeping beauty next to him. He rode through the forest with only the moonlight as his guide. In a meadow he had finally found what he was looking for, a single blue flower. It was called the Silent Princess. It was Princess Zelda’s favourite flower.

He had snuck up on her when she was sunbathing in the garden and carefully put the flower in her hair. It matched her blue dress perfectly. The princess had dozed off but was woken up by her lover’s gentle touch. She touched the flower and smiled,

\- “Thank you, Link. You are the kindest boy I have ever met.” giggled Marin.

Link, who had been woken up from his daydream, jumped backwards in surprise as Marin and Princess Zelda became indistinguishable as their faces melted into one. He tried to run but his feet were stuck in the amniotic fluid from the egg, rendering him immobile. The ghost-like fusion of his two lovers staggered closer to him.

\- “Why did you abandon us, Link?” cried the mirage.

Link screamed in horror and shame and slashed the dark doppelganger in two. She turned into water and disappeared into a puddle on the floor. Link felt a hand on his shoulder and slowly turned around.

The beautiful women he had betrayed were gone. The shadowy individual had taken the shape of Link himself. It was like looking into a mirror, naked with all of his sins exposed.

\- “There will be no more nightmares.” whispered his reflection softly.

Link felt something break inside of him. The lives lost would be a weight he would have to carry with him his whole life. A never-ending nightmare.

\- “You wanted to stay here.” whispered his shadow.

Link felt tears burning in his eyes. He shook his head sadly.

\- “I can’t stay here forever. There are people I love and care about in the real world.”

Link thought about the grave where his brave uncle was resting. Did the princess water the flowers when he was gone? Who protected the people in Kakariko Village from attacking monsters and thieves?

\- “When did those people ever show you gratitude?” asked his shadow quietly.

Link remembered the people who once had been his friends. They had thrown rocks at him and spit at him when he had been falsely accused for kidnapping the princess. Like a small orphan would be capable of such a stunt. The worst part was that they probably knew that it wasn’t true and were only concerned about their own well-being.

Link had been forced to accept the cold hard fact that the people he had once loved and trusted had betrayed him during his most vulnerable moments when he had just lost the only family he had ever known. He just wanted to go back to bed and slip under the covers. Somebody else could save the world.

_He wasn’t a coward he had just decided to wait at home._

But then he remembered the kind old lady with a broomstick who looked just like Ulrira’s wife, Grandma Yahoo. He always smiled when he said her silly but charming name.

The sweeping lady in Kakariko village was the only one who had believed in him. One day he had accidentally dropped his satchel full of magic powder on the floor and the old woman had regained her true form, a fairy godmother.

Since Grandpa Ulrira couldn’t leave his house because of his anxiety, Grandma Yahoo provided him with the hints that he would tell Link over the phone. When she had come across the isolated villa full of frogs, she had seen the wounded prince in his most miserable state.

Even though he had sworn at her and told her that he just wanted to be left alone she came by every day to help him clean his wounds and keep him company. He had eventually given up the act and let his tears flow. Even though he had sworn to keep the key hidden in his backyard, the burden had been too hard for him to bear on his own.

Aside from Grandma Yahoo, who else did the frog prince have? Was she the only one who would comfort him when everybody else had abandoned him? Was she his fairy godmother?

Link suddenly felt guilty for not paying more attention to the lonely prince. For a short moment he had even considered climbing over the fence and grab the key without having to deal with the rude nobleman’s request.

Why did he go to such great lengths to hide the key if he didn’t already know the importance of Link finding the bell that would toll for Koholint Island? If the ghostly knight Nakura had known about the island’s fate, why wouldn’t the other soldiers? Was their betrayal one last act of desperation?

Why did Prince Richard need those golden leaves anyway? After all, what good would treasure do in the face of death? Had it just been an excuse to prolong the inevitable? Link bit his lip and looked down at his reflection in the water.

After having finished the strange but colourful dungeon hidden in the graveyard, the Great Fairy had offered him a new set of clothing. Even though the red one seemed more useful, he had been drawn to the ocean blue tunic that had reminded him of the sorrowful prince of the doomed kingdom. Was he his kindred spirit?

Link saw the handsome prince in his reflection and felt himself being sucked in. Maybe the prince’s restless spirit had possessed him, in order to avenge his fallen kingdom.

\- “I accept my punishment.” said Link as he embraced the prince’s ghost.

Link wasn’t the only one who was relieved. The lord of the Nightmares, Dethl finally felt at peace. He must have had the devil’s own luck when the hero had slipped and hit his head when he fell into the hole. In this helpless vulnerable state, he had been easy to possess.

Finally the Nightmares were free. When they burrowed through the crying whale’s skin and came out at the other end, they could feel the fresh air and the gentle touch of the waves. Having never felt the joy of rocking in the waves before, the Nightmares couldn’t contain themselves as they made the waves grow bigger. The hot air married the cold air and gave birth to a ball of lightning. It was the most beautiful thing the Nightmare had ever witnessed. Tears fell from the Nightmare’s large eye and rained down on Mille-Feuille, the kingdom of one thousand leaves.


	7. The Daughters of the Air

Princess Zelda was safe in the sanctuary but she still felt like she was being chased by an invisible enemy with nowhere to hide. This time her hero wasn’t there to protect her and hold her hand through the night. They had found comfort in each other as they had both lost their families in the war.

The princess still felt ashamed of herself when she thought about how she had reacted the night Link’s uncle had passed away. She had told him that a boy shouldn’t cry so much. Truth to be told, she was angry with herself because her tears had frozen after the king, her beloved father had been killed by the ruthless Agahnim. It was Link who had showed her how to smile again and taught her how to cry when she was sad instead of bottling up her emotions.

After Link had gone missing, she hadn’t been able to contact him but she could still feel his presence. She had been praying at the sanctuary in order to keep her focus but now she couldn’t feel her beloved’s presence anymore. Sahasrahla had informed the princess that there had been reports of a giant storm coming their way. The wise sage couldn’t believe his eyes when he had seen the large sea creature swimming through the clouds.

The princess decided to put her faith into the sea creature that ruled the sky and shifted all of her focus on communicating with the god through telepathy. Surely it couldn’t be a coincidence that the hero had gone missing around the same time the king of the ocean had lost his senses?

The princess saw an image of a dreaming girl, with a face that resembled her own. With all her might Zelda called out to the island girl.

\- “Meet me at the sanctuary.”

Marin heard a soft voice calling out to her in her dreams. The sanctuary? Who was talking to her and what kind of message were they trying to convey?

Marin quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake up her snoring father. She put her hair up in a messy bun and quickly grabbed her coat. It had been raining last night and there was still morning dew clinging to the wide array of tropical flowers. Not knowing what else to do, the lone girl set foot towards the Southern Face Shrine.

At the shrine Marin kneeled in front of the mural, closed her eyes and prayed silently. Suddenly she was transported to a different shrine that still felt familiar somehow. A beautiful blonde maiden sat so close to her that their foreheads were touching. Marin looked around confused.

\- “Where am I?” whispered Marin under her breath. “Are you the one who summoned me?”

The princess kept her eyes shut and didn’t move an inch. Marin noticed that she seemed exhausted and had grey bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept for days. But her beauty was still out of this world. Marin suddenly felt self-conscious about her bedhead and old washed out nightgown.

\- “My name is Princess Zelda. I am communicating with you through telepathy in a dream. Fear not, my dear. I mean you no harm.”

Princess Zelda? Marin recalled the memory of her first encounter with the castaway. She had found him on the beach unconscious and tried to shake him awake. He had slowly opened his eyes and uttered the princess’s name. Marin had been so confused. There was no princess of Koholint Island, unless Prince Richard had a secret long lost sister.

\- “This land is called Hyrule.” The princess spoke softly. “The dreaming island was created from the hero’s memories; it is but a mere reflection.”

The princess held out her hand gracefully and Marin hesitantly took it. Suddenly they were flying, floating above the land of Hyrule. Marin gasped as she realized that her feet weren’t touching the ground. She had dreamt of flying but now she just wanted to come back down.

\- “Do you see the mountain in the distance?” asked Princess Zelda and pointed at a mountain that looked just like the Tal Tal Heights. “It is called the Death Mountain. It is the most difficult mountain to climb in Hyrule. It got the name after the many young and naïve adventurers it has brought to heaven.”

Marin swallowed hard. How could the mountain where the holy egg of the Wind Fish rested be a reflection of a mountain that symbolized death? The fearsome mountain was covered in dark soot and spat out burning lava like it was a splitting image of hell itself. Had God truly forsaken them?

_The mural of the Southern Face Shrine…_

Marin didn’t have time to collect herself as the princess had transported them to another place that looked just like Mabe Village. Marin saw a splitting image of herself when she was younger and Tarin when he weighed a few pounds less. The younger version of Marin has laughing and chasing after a cucco that was trying to flee to avoid ending up on the dinner table tonight. Marin looked away in shame as she saw the young girl’s mischievous grin as she carried the cucco back into the chicken coop.

\- “Please, no more. I just want to go back home.” cried Marin who couldn’t bear looking at Malon who would live a long happy life together with her father Talon, who was a splitting image of her own father.

\- “As you wish.” whispered the princess softly as their foreheads touched once again and they were back at the shrine. 

Marin, who had enough at this point, stood up and pointed angrily at the beautiful princess with tears burning in her eyes. She had never been so angry in her whole life, she was gritting her teeth and spitting.

\- “You just wanted to see me suffer!” screamed the broken-hearted girl. 

\- “I have come to ask you for your assistance.” responded the fair maiden calmly, with her eyes still closed. “Link’s life might be in grave danger.”

Marin felt her heart sink as she finally asked the question that had been burning in her mind ever since the castaway had whispered the princess’s name in his sleep.

\- “What are you to Link?” Marin asked, with her fists clenched and her eyes shut tightly. 

Marin legs wouldn’t carry her anymore so she sat down on a box that Sahasrahla had left for the princess in the morning. It was filled with the most delicious food, fresh from the local farm, Lon Lon Ranch. The songstress shook her head violently back and forth as she let out a sorrowful scream.

When she was transported back, she was kneeling down in front of the mural where their cruel fate was written. As the sorrowful ballad would play, the songstress and the people of the island would turn into _sea foam_ and return to the ocean. Marin could feel her heart break into a thousand pieces as she heard the princess’s words echo in her mind.

\- “I am his fiancée.”

Marin wished that the princess had been an evil witch in disguise, just like in the story of the Little Mermaid she had read as a child. But in the true story of the Little Mermaid the princess who had won the prince’s love was a sweet and kind girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The music for the Face Shrine in the remake is like the unholy love child of "Safety in the Sanctuary" from A Link to the Past and "The Final Hours" from Majora's Mask...


	8. A World Without You

The prince’s ship rocked gently in the waves, on the way to Koholint Island in search for the prince’s missing friend who seemed to have been swallowed by the vast ocean.

Prince Comal still remembered the day he impulsively bought his ship. Having never thought about the value of money before, he had wasted an unnecessary amount of nuts that was meant to help his people and improve his country’s welfare. Money he could have used to improve the schools, the hospitals, elderly care…

All for the sake of a beautiful princess he had never even met. The woman whom his dearest friend Prince Richard loved with all of his heart, so much so that he would abandon his pride and sacrifice himself to keep her safe. To keep everybody safe.

Do all people go crazy like that when they are in love? Prince Comal didn't know.

_After all, he had never been in love. _

Which was unfortunate since he was getting married next month on the princess' eighteenth birthday.

At first he had been upset when Richard had told everybody that he was clueless and irresponsible with money. In hindsight he had realized that Richard wasn’t wrong. The people of the Sablé Kingdom had worked hard to earn that money while the prince had never done any physical labour in his whole life before he was forced to pick up the pickaxe in the mine and dig with all his might to save his dear friend.

The Prince of Sablé had never felt more ashamed in his whole life when he had realized what circumstances the miners had to work under. All those years living in luxury suddenly felt unfair when there were people out there exhausting their bodies every day just to put food on the table and pay the rent every month.

More than often the problem with Richard wasn’t what he was saying but rather how he chose to express himself. It was like frogs just kept popping out of his mouth. Maybe the princess had a sense of humour after all, having placed a curse on the vain prince that would transform him into his spirit animal.

But up until now he had always been honest with the Prince of Sablé. Except for the whole plan he had come up with together with the princess but those were just white lies. Besides it wasn't like he could stay mad at him when Richard had asked him for forgiveness with tears in his eyes. Especially since he wasn't the one who should be asking for forgiveness when he had put himself on the line like that. He had been ready to die for the Prince of Sablé.

Prince Comal still remembered how the people of Mille-Feuille had treated him after Jam had spread lies about him and how quickly their attitudes had shifted when they found out about his royal status and wealth. Like a pack of _vultures_ they had flocked around him, hoping the wealthy prince would spare them a dime.

It was reassuring to know that Richard would never praise him if he didn’t truly mean it from the bottom of his heart. When he had complimented his fencing skills during their final battle, he had sounded like he truly meant it. After all, even though they had pretended they were rivals in fencing, Prince Comal had no prior knowledge of fencing aside from sparring with Richard. Everything he had learned about fencing was taught to him by the very person who he was competing with.

He had realized this during their final battle, that Richard deep down was a teacher who was proud of his student. His student who had _finally_ surpassed him.

Or maybe not since they never found out who was actually better at fencing. Even though it shouldn't be important, there was a part of Prince Comal that was dying to know who was truly the better prince. But when he remembered how sad and vulnerable Richard had been that day at the pier, he felt bad for thinking like that.

The prince’s stomach had twisted itself into a knot as his ship sailed in the direction of Koholint Island. No matter how much Richard might have loved the princess and how much his heart was breaking, Prince Comal couldn’t believe he would end their friendship like this, by giving him the cold shoulder.

Even if he would have totally understood if that was the case. Lately the crying prince had been haunting his dreams at night. Prince Comal had to remind himself that those images that flashed before him when he closed his eyelids, was but a figment of his imagination. He had to draw a line between dreams and reality.

Fortunately for the crew the storm had subsided and the mysterious sea creature had moved in the other direction towards Hyrule. With its tropical climate, rainstorms were no stranger to Koholint Island so the islanders were probably prepared and knew how to take cover when Mother Nature came knocking at their doors.

However, despite having set sail in the morning the prince and his crew still hadn’t reached Koholint Island. It was way past noon and they hadn’t eaten since breakfast but the prince refused to rest. He tried to convince himself over and over again that he must have been so shaken by the recent events that he had accidentally taken a detour.

\- “I think it’s time to turn back.”

The sound of the princess’ voice woke him up and brought him back to reality. Prince Comal felt the knot in his stomach become even tighter, like he was going to throw up. He turned around and glared at his fiancée who had an unreadable expression on her face.

He wanted to yell at her and ask her what she meant by that. The prince felt like something was about to break inside of him, like his feelings were about to pour out all at once. But when he saw the princess stare into the distance like she was somewhere far away, he swallowed his words. The prince quietly whispered under his breath.

\- “You know where Richard is, don't you?”

The prince had meant for this to be a question but it sounded more like a statement. The princess continued to stare at the ocean where the beautiful paradise island had once been. The island where the princes had played, got hurt and cried together.

Finally the princess turned around to look at him. Her words cut him like a knife, struck him like thunder and made the ground feel like it was about to dissolve under his feet.

\- “Prince Comal.”

This was the first time the princess spoke the Prince of Sablé’s real name. The name that only a select few, who were deemed worthy, was allowed to utter. Sometimes the prince was afraid that everyone had just forgotten about him. Sometimes he felt jealous of Richard who had a normal name instead of being named after a freaking Mexican pan. Maybe he should start to call the other prince Custard instead. If the he had such a cutesy name befitting of a princess from a dreamlike fairy-tale, maybe he wouldn't make fun of him anymore. Maybe they would finally be equals. Prince of _egg yolks_ mixed with vanilla and milk would pat him on his back and let him on his ship so they could sail off to new adventures together.

But those had just been childish fantasies, born from his insecure and immature mind. There were times when he had wished that Richard would just disappear so that he could be the one shining the brightest.

_\- "He is gone, my love."_

But when Prince Comal had calmed down he had always regretted such thoughts. He had never imagined that one day his wish would come true.

_A world without Richard._

Suddenly the prince was overtaken by anger and grief. He hissed like a snake and spat the words out like they were poison. Like something dark and invisible had possessed him, clouding his judgement.

\- "I will bring him back if it will be the last thing I do!"


	9. Dear Richard

Last night Prince Richard had a strange dream but he couldn’t quite recall it. He remembered being very small and looking up at a large beast from a frog’s-eye view. He had tried to run away but couldn’t as the beast caught up to him and swallowed him alive. That was when he woke up, having fallen out of bed. 

The former prince ran his hand through his messy curls and tried to find the matches so he could light up a candle. He sat down at his desk, grabbed his quill pen and opened up a small leather notebook with golden ornaments. Ever since the island had been inexplicably closed off from the outside world, he had started to document his nightmares in a dream diary. 

Ever since he was a child he had kept a diary. Unfortunately most of them were left behind at the castle and asking Link to help him retrieve them would be way too embarrassing. Keeping a diary was a habit he had picked up from his friend Prince Comal of the Sablé Kingdom. 

Richard still remembered the day when he had found the Prince of Sablé’s secret diary. It was the other prince’s 10th birthday and thousands of guests were invited. The wealthy prince had showed off his palace to the crowd consisting of noblemen, princes from exotic foreign lands and high ranked officials. They had all been impressed by the many rooms that had all been decorated by the most expensive artwork from every corner of the world.

\- “Are you impressed?” bragged the small prince, with his hands on his hips. 

\- “Sure.” responded the young Prince Richard absentmindedly.

He wasn’t really impressed with what he had seen. The art looked stiff and rectangular and didn’t match with the rest of the interior decoration. While art is subjective he doubted that the other prince had picked out the art based on his personal taste but rather the popularity and price tag. Prince Richard forced himself to suppress a yawn and wondered if he could sneak away without anybody noticing. 

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way the young prince had hoped. The Prince of Sablé had invited him to his bedroom with a massive bed fit for a king. Richard waded through a sea of pillows, he couldn’t even count how many, and finally reached a soft sofa. He sighed as he laid down on it, while the birthday boy was still running his mouth, once again bragging about the architecture consisting of golden pillars from the 18th century and the Victorian fireplace. When he heard Richard’s soft breaths, he stopped in the middle of his explanation.

\- “You don’t have to sleep on the sofa…” mumbled the little prince but Richard was already fast asleep.

The Prince of Sablé tiptoed quietly to avoid waking up the sleeping prince and put a blanket on him. He looked at his peaceful sleeping face until he realized that he was being weird and went to bed. 

In the light of a candle the little prince of the large wealthy kingdom eased his heart to his only friend, a small brown notebook. It was his most treasured item even though it was worth less than a chocolate bar. When he was finished he hid the diary under his pillow, blew out the candle and crept under the soft blanket that felt like a huge cloud. 

Nobody read the Prince of Sablé a goodnight story even though it was his birthday tomorrow. Both the king and queen were absent because of an urgent errand that couldn’t wait. 

Prince Comal dreamed that he was swimming in the clouds together with the prince from the sea who had called his name softly. The prince, who hadn’t heard somebody call his name in so long, felt warm on the inside. 

When Richard woke up, he felt his neck ache. Apparently he had fallen asleep in a weird position because he had been so tired last night. Somebody had been kind enough to put a blanket on him so he wouldn’t catch a cold. It was probably one of the maids. Prince Richard wished that he could hire some female servants too; his own were always so rough and would always rustle his hair. 

\- “You are going to be a strong soldier and lead the military when you grow up, aren’t you?”

Richard always tried his best to look as neutral as possible when this subject came up. He already knew that this wasn’t a question because his future had already been decided before he was even out of his mother’s womb. 

He would much rather live a peaceful life in a cottage by the sea where he could listen to the sound of the waves and paint the sunset. 

He was woken up by the loud chatter from the corridor. It was already noon and the Prince of Sablé had already left because he had guests to entertain. Prince Richard could feel the smell of the delicious food from the country’s finest chefs and felt his stomach rumble. However, the loud music and the laughter from all the drunken people were quite discouraging. The introverted prince ignored his crying stomach and decided to wait inside of the chamber. 

The giant bed was finally empty so Richard threw himself onto it while giggling. Normally he wouldn’t be caught dead doing something so utterly shameful but the softness of the blanket had convinced his aching neck otherwise. As he rolled around on the bed and burrowed his face into the pillow, something fell out. A small brown notebook that looked like a diary. 

Richard picked up the diary and noticed that it wasn’t locked. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with curiosity and looked around quickly to see if somebody would catch him peeking. He opened the notebook with a mischievous grin on his face. 

Maybe the other prince had written something embarrassing in the notebook that he could use against him later. The pages were decorated with colourful stickers and sloppy drawings. Richard laughed at a drawing of the sun and moon wearing sunglasses. Because everything was cooler with sunglasses. At least he had a sense of humour!

He skimmed through the pages quickly, hoping to find something really shameful. Maybe the prince still wet bed and believed in Santa Claus. Did he have a crush on someone? 

Unfortunately, he had found none of that because the Prince of Sablé only ever bragged about his own achievements. Richard rolled his eyes and groaned as he read passage after passage where the Prince of Sablé repeated the same statement over and over again like a mantra.

_Am I cool or what?_

_Aren’t I nice?_

_In the name of justice, the heroic prince will punish the evildoers…_

Richard couldn’t help but laugh. Apparently the prince wasn’t really that deep after all. At least he was honest, because he was just as boring to listen to as he was to read about. But then he came across something unexpected. A fairly short passage compared to the other things the prince had written in his diary. There was no date and the silly drawings and stickers shone with their absence.

_Today I slipped and fell into the moat. I can’t swim so I couldn’t get up by myself. When the water filled my lungs, I couldn’t breathe. My life flashed before me and I thought about mother and father. Would they miss me if I was gone?_

_After I was rescued by a castle guard, it was the maid that tucked me into bed. Father was busy, they said. An important meeting. This is the third time this week, it feels like I barely even see him anymore._

_The next day there were so many presents and a whole sea of flowers in my room. A whole buffet waited outside with my favourite food and pastries in the colour of the rainbow. But father was still busy so I had to eat by myself again._

_Sometimes I wonder if they have forgotten about me. They praise me but it is like they don’t see me, like they are looking right through me._

_…_

_What do you think, Richard?_

_Does father wish he had a better son?_

Prince Richard felt his blood run cold. Not just because of the jarring contrast between the diary entries. Not because it seemed contradictory that the prince was bragging about his achievements on one page and wondering if his parents wished he had never been born on another. 

How could he have known that he would read his diary? Richard went back and read the other pages more thoroughly this time. Much to his surprise every page begun with “Dear Richard”. Had he named his diary after him? Prince Richard of the Custard Kingdom couldn’t possibly understand why. It was not like they were friends or anything. 

With his cheeks burning with shame, Richard read yesterday’s entry. The prince had been so sad and disappointed when Richard hadn’t been impressed by all the things he had showed him. He had studied this beforehand and learned that Prince Richard was passionate about art and architecture. It was almost a little creepy how much he had managed to find out about him. 

Maybe if he impressed him with the most expensive art he could find; Richard would finally start a conversation with him. He wanted to be friends with him so badly; he wanted to sleep with him in his bed and whisper secrets in his ear that he had never told anybody else. 

Then he would tell him that it was OK to call him by his real name if he wanted to. Only a few people were allowed to but because he was his best friend it was OK. Maybe it wouldn’t matter anymore if his parents were busy. He would instead look forward to having the whole castle to themselves so they could sneak out and he would show Richard all of his favourite places in the Sablé Kingdom. 

Suddenly, Richard felt tears running down his face. He thought about the Prince of Sablé all alone in his huge empty palace. Despite his material welfare, he was still sad on the inside and just wanted a friend. 

The sound of porcelain shattering, made Richard jump. At the entrance of the door stood the Prince of Sablé who was redder than a tomato and looked like he just wanted to sink through the floor. The fancy steak with mashed potatoes and sauce had gone from being a four star dinner to a smear on the floor. 

\- “I-I-I thought you were hungry…” stuttered the Prince of Sablé.

Since that day forward Richard also kept a diary. He would always show it to Prince Comal of the Sablé Kingdom who wanted Richard to teach him how to draw.

Because best friends don’t keep secrets from each other.

Unless they really have to but then it’s just called a white lie.


	10. Kindred Spirit

When Richard woke up in the morning he had no idea what the clock was or how long he had slept. It felt like he had been asleep for days and his neck hurt. He looked at the mirror and barely even recognized himself. He saw grey strands in his hair and he had the sourest expression on his face. Richard, who was slightly freaked out by the sight of his own face, tried to smile but it just looked weird.

He started his normal morning routine with brushing his teeth and applying make-up to cover up his facial scar. He got the scar during the final battle with the Prince of Sablé who had accidentally stabbed him. Thankfully the other prince had realized his mistake and dropped the sword before it struck Richard’s eye.

Prince Comal bowed deeply when he asked for forgiveness. He had looked like a knight waiting to be dubbed by his prince. Richard had felt so bad for him that he had lied and said that it was just a little scratch. A battle scar would just make him look more like a true warrior. His soldiers had roared and cheered that their prince finally had become a _real man_. Unfortunately, it hadn’t even lasted two minutes before Prince Richard had burst into tears and rushed out of the room, much to the disappointment of his army.

It might be vain of him to worry so much about his own face but he couldn’t help it. He had always loved to dress up in fancy clothes and was known for his fashion sense. Richard knew that sometimes people talked behind his back and said he was too flamboyant but he didn’t care because he knew he was fabulous.

It felt like he had forgotten something important but he couldn’t remember. Lately it had been difficult to keep track of time. He had tried to measure the time it would take to walk from his villa to the Kanalet Castle. When Link had stopped by he said he needed to change his sign because it was way faster to walk to Kanalet Castle than 10 minutes. In 10 minutes he could easily run across the whole island because it was just that small. His words had shocked the former prince.

Perhaps it was because of the Wind Fish’s influence. Lately the villagers had been acting strange. Papahl, the kind father of the quadruplets, had walked around with a strange look on his face like he was possessed by a demon and started spewing nonsense. He had said that the Wind Fish had spoken to him in a dream and told him to go to the Tal Tal Heights and dispose of the pink hibiscus his wife was growing in their garden. Link had later found him famished in the mountains. He had been out so long in the sun that he had gotten sunstroke and he hadn’t eaten in days. Prince Richard couldn’t believe that the island’s protector would do something so cruel to a father with wife and children. Something wasn’t right here but he couldn’t figure it out.

The villagers had been isolated for most of their lives. Having no connection to the outside world, they didn’t really notice or question the recent turn of events. The realization had struck him when he saw one of Papahl’s sons look at the ocean with a vacant expression on his face. The child seemed to be unable to grasp the concept of time and space.

\- “What do we mean when we say “when”?” asked the small boy as if the prince had spoken to him in a foreign language. “What is the outside world? I have never thought about it…”

There was only one ship on the entire island and it was only meant to serve as the army’s fleet. When he was little he had asked his grandfather why there weren’t more boats on the island when they were surrounded by water. Grandpa didn’t answer his question but he had a sad look on his face so Richard didn’t want to push it.

It was early in the morning and Richard stood next to the library, in the same spot where the kids usually played. He looked out at the ocean and tried to recall a lost memory. Was he also beginning to forget and lose track of time? The possibility scared Richard more than he would like to admit. If only Nakura had been here he would probably have comforted him. Richard remembered his grey hair and his glasses that always kept sliding off his nose. When the prince was little Nakura would take him on adventures in the mountains and let him ride on his shoulders.

_ Nakura! _

Suddenly Richard remembered that he was supposed to water the flower. He had promised to take care of it because he knew that Nakura had a green thumb and loved that orange hibiscus. Even though he didn’t have a watering can with him, he rushed towards Nakura’s cottage while trying his best to avoid the crabs on the beach. How could he have forgotten about him? The prince felt so ashamed of himself even though his memory loss might have happened due to circumstances beyond his control.

When he arrived at the cottage he was out of breath and slowly reached for the handle to open the door. He was greeted with the unexpected sight of Marin’s back. When she saw him she jumped in surprise and spilled water all over her sundress. The flower had survived thanks to the songstress’ love and care.

Prince Richard tried to think of something to say but couldn’t find the words. Marin gestured for him to sit down at the bed which had new blankets and colourful pillows. She had tried her best to clean up the mess and asked Tarin to fix the roof.

Marin had brought a kettle with her and boiled a cup of tea for the prince. He mumbled thanks and gently blew at the hot tea. After a deafening silence, the songstress finally spoke.

\- “I think I’m the only one on the island who still remembers.”

Richard nodded even though the songstress’ words seemed vague. He felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders, knowing that there was somebody else who longed for the outside world as much as he did.

\- “I tried to leave the island together with Link.” Marin tried and failed to suppress a sob. “But there was just an endless ocean out there. It was like the raft we had built together, with the remains of his broken ship, had hit an invisible wall.”

Richard sighed and shut his eyes. Link’s intentions might have been good but why would he crush Marin’s dreams like that when he already knew the island was closed off from the outside world? In the end it was just a selfish act to make himself feel better. If they weren’t even allowed to daydream about the world beyond the sea, how would they be able to cope with the existential dread that plagued them every waking moment?

\- “I’m sorry about the mess earlier. We didn’t mean to spy on you but when I saw you I couldn’t just leave you like that. I started coming here every day hoping I would get a chance to meet you.” said Marin softly and tried to give the former prince her best smile even though her own heart was breaking.

Richard felt like he wanted to cry but he had cried so much lately that the tears seemed to have dried up. Marin told him to remember how to breathe.

\- “If it wasn’t for me Nakura would still be here.” said Richard finally. The songstress stroked his back gently to comfort him. She waited for him to collect himself until she asked softly:

\- “Do you want to talk about it?”

Richard’s ocean blue eyes met with the songstress warm chestnut eyes. She might have been a stranger but for some reason he felt comfortable in her presence. It was like she had a calming aura around her. She sat so close to him that he could smell her spicy tropical perfume. He suddenly wished he had showered this morning. When did the vain prince become such a slob? Thankfully Marin didn’t seem to judge.

\- “He saved my life when he sacrificed himself to help me escape the castle.”

He didn’t want to recall the painful memories of Nakura’s corpse being strung up in the basement of the Tail Cave together with the other soldiers who had helped him escape. The self-righteous captain had something wild and dark in his gaze when he had announced what he considered to be the prisoners’ crimes:

_Treason_

_ Desertion_

_ Attempted genocide_

Richard hoped that his soldiers had also been possessed by the Nightmares. When he cried in Marin’s warm embrace the painful memories suddenly felt a little more distant.


	11. First Love

At first Richard wasn’t so keen on going to Mabe Village together with Marin. It was hard to look people in the eye when nobody knew that their fates had already been decided. Even though there wasn’t anything Prince Richard could do to save his people, he still blamed himself.

Richard thought about Papahl’s youngest son who was still in his diapers and clutching onto his soft Yoshi doll while sleeping with his thumb in his mouth. He would never learn how to walk, go to school, fall in love or get married…

Everyone must have thought he was rude when he turned his head away when people greeted him. But it was so hard to pretend that everything was OK and put on a happy face. When Grandma Yahoo waved at him, the knot in his stomach became even tighter. Grandpa Ulrira whose lips were normally sealed, mumbled something about ungrateful youths.

Marin was singing at the plaza and the kids and small foxes were sitting in a ring around her. Normally they were very noisy but Marin’s song had calmed everybody down. When she spotted Richard she stopped singing and cheerfully waved at him.

Marin had said that he couldn’t mope around at home all day and asked him for a date in Mabe Village. She had even convinced him to sell some of his art to the owner of the Trendy Game. Now the shop was decorated with little statues of frogs and a bird that Richard had seen in a dream. He had decided to call the bird statue a “Loftwing”. When Marin asked him how he came up with the name he just shrugged because he honestly wasn’t sure, it just felt right.

He tried his best not to think about the nightmare he had when he had seen a young woman riding her Loftwing, trying to take down an infected flying whale that looked eerily similar to the Wind Fish. Hopefully it wasn’t a foreboding dream. Especially since Mandola, his beloved princess’ alter ego had also been there, riding an oversized vulture with a magic wand in her other hand. It warmed his heart to think about the witch princess fighting with all of her powers to rescue him, although he would never admit that out loud.

Marin had tried countless of times to get a cute plushie of a Boo but gravity wasn’t on her side today. Having wasted countless of rupees on the Trendy Game, Marin grinned mischievously as she plotted her revenge against the shop keeper. She pressed the buttons and made the claw hover over the clueless shop keeper who was counting his rupees with a greedy look on his face. The claw grabbed the shop keeper’s head and he let out a high-pitched shriek as all of the rupees flew across the floor.

\- “This game is rigged!” yelled Marin and stuck out her tongue when the angry shop keeper chased after her with a broom.

Richard was overwhelmed by a sense of deja-vu and suddenly recalled a childhood memory of Princess Tiramisu. She had also been frustrated by the claw machine because she didn’t have any luck. She had been so mad that she didn’t get the prize that she wanted from the Trendy Game that she had cursed the shop keeper and turned him into dung beetle.

She had looked so cute when she was angry, with tears in her eyes, her rosy cheeks puffed and her blonde curls in a mess. She was still wearing her thick glasses that looked like bottle caps and she had long elf-like ears because she had inherited her mother’s Hylian blood. She had never liked the way she looked even though he reassured her that he thought she was cute no matter what other people said. But she was never satisfied no matter how many times she changed her appearance with the help of her own dark magic.

Being the smooth young gentleman that he was, he had seen this coming and hid a consolation prize in his pocket for his little princess. He said he would show her a magic trick that would make her feel better and pulled out a red silk ribbon from his sleeve. The small princess stopped crying and her eyes got bigger than golf balls when she saw the beautiful ribbon.

\- “But it won’t suit me…” said the little witch bashfully and blushed in several shades of red.

The young prince had tied the ribbon in her hair and they had pinkie promised that they would get married when they got older. But they had just been children back then. Sometimes people’s feelings for one another can change.

\- “Richard? What is the matter?” asked Marin with a worried expression on her face. Even the shop keeper had calmed down and was staring at him.

Richard realized that he had been crying again and turned away in embarrassment. The princess and Marin resembled each other so much that it hurt to look at her face. But he could never replace his princess with another girl, it just wouldn’t be right.

The sun was already setting when Richard and Marin walked along the beach. The sunset felt a little melancholic when it casted its orange light over the waves. Marin wanted to show him her secret place and lead him to an isolated beach near Nakura’s cottage. She gestured for him to sit down on a large piece of driftwood.

\- “I wonder where these coconuts come from?” asked Marin while looking out at the sea.

\- “They floated over here from the Mille-Feuille Kingdom. There are a lot of coconut trees growing at the beaches there so when the fruit fall down into the ocean they…” explained Richard without thinking.

\- “You have been outside of the island!?” Marin flew up from where she was sitting.

Richard saw a mysterious owl sitting in one of the coconut trees, staring at them. For some reason he looked disappointed but Richard couldn’t figure out why. Richard started telling Marin about the outside world as she listened intently.

He told her about the Sablé Kingdom that was only three hours away if you travelled by boat. Marin’s eyes lit up and she looked like a kid on Christmas when he told her about the industries and the flying cars. She laughed when he told her a childhood memory when he and his friend Prince Comal had put ice cream in the captain’s shoe.

Then he told her about the princess. How much he had loved her and how badly he just wanted to see her one last time. It didn’t matter if she loved another; he just wanted to hold her hand one last time. Marin’s smile had died and she looked down. She told him about the dream she had about Princess Zelda and how her heart had been broken in the same way Richard’s had been.

\- “Maybe if we pray to the Wind Fish he will let you see your princess again. I heard that he can grant wishes.” said Marin and gave Richard a reassuring hug.

\- “But what about you?” asked Richard with a lump in his throat.

Marin let go of him and smiled at him. This time her smile looked genuine, like she had suddenly regained her energy.

\- “Let’s travel to the Wind Fish’s Egg together and ask him to grant our wishes!”

The mysterious owl, who had listened to the whole conversation, sighed and flew away.


	12. The Bell Tolls for Koholint Island

Richard had promised to meet up with Marin in Mabe Village. He had told her that he had an important errand that he needed to take care of before he left. After all, he didn’t know if he would ever return to his villa again.

Taking care of a whole house by himself had proven to be quite the challenge. There was some mould on the roof and the banners outside looked like they had seen better days. But then again so did the prince who would never regain his former glory. It was hard to look after his house when he barely had enough energy to get out of bed in the morning.

When he opened the door he was greeted by loud croaking. He carefully picked up his four friends and put them in a basket that Marin had been kind enough to lend him. Before the incident at the castle some of his soldiers had mysteriously been transformed into frogs again.

Princess Tiramisu had made a beautiful replica of the Sea Lily’s Bell and enhanced it with her dark magic. But for some reason the bell seemed to have lost its powers when the island became closed off from the outside world. The petals of the bell were pointing downwards as if the bell was just as depressed as Prince Richard himself.

The greedy witch who lived near the graveyard had promised him to enhance the Sea Lily’s Bell with her magic powder but since Princess Tiramisu’s spell had been so complex she had needed to research it beforehand. Naturally she expected to be paid for her hard work. That was the reason why Prince Richard had asked Link to retrieve his golden leaves for him. They had been a gift from Princess Tiramisu so he didn’t really want to part with them but he felt like he owed his brave soldiers a favour.

He hated to admit it but he wasn’t sure if he could really trust his soldiers. What if they had only stayed with him because he fed them and took care of them? Maybe they would have betrayed him just like the other soldiers if they had been capable of doing so. For that reason the former prince had deliberately delayed the witch’s payment.

Thankfully, the whole process went smoothly and the soldiers were back to normal. They cheered and hugged Richard who couldn’t help but smile. The witch giggled and greedily counted how many rupees she would earn if she sold the golden leaves.

When he saw the witch’s evil grin, Richard recalled a nightmare he had when Mandola had laughed behind his back and said that he was naïve and easy to take advantage of. But it was probably just a figment of his own imagination due to recent events. Richard knew that the princess would never bad-mouth him behind his back.

_…Or would she?_

Richard slapped himself mentally. He was seriously starting to have trust issues!

Richard told Marin that she would have to wait a little until they could travel to the Wind Fish’s Egg. After all, he hadn’t been able to talk to his soldiers for a long time and they had invited him over for dinner to celebrate that they had finally turned back into humans. Marin nodded and said she understood that Richard wanted to say goodbye to his friends.

Richard’s friends had made a dinner fit for a king. The drunken soldiers were singing and toasted to the end of the world. If they were going die tomorrow they might as well enjoy themselves.

Ashei, one of the few female soldiers in the army, had patted Richard on the back and said that she had never really liked Captain Viscen. How could somebody possibly be so self-righteous? Richard cried tears of joy because he felt so happy that his friends had trusted him after all. Ashei said she would accompany Richard and Marin on their way to the Wind Fish’s Egg. After all she had grown up in the mountains and was quite knowledgeable after all of her adventures together with Nakura.

Richard felt his head spin and excused himself. He felt like he was going to throw up and really needed to lie down. Maybe he shouldn’t have drunk so much alcohol. Unlike his friend Prince Comal, he had never been a heavy drinker. Ashei had been kind enough to escort him home.

When Richard woke up he wasn’t in his bed but rather trapped inside of a bottle. He thought he might be dreaming again and tried to pinch himself awake. But then he realized that he didn’t have any fingers. He had been transformed into a frog again!

In the corner of the room he could see Ashei and the three other soldiers have a meeting. But something didn’t seem right. There was something strange in their gaze, like they had been possessed. Richard knew that Ashei was a rebel at heart; she wouldn’t stoop so low.

They must have been possessed by the Nightmares when they were drunk and vulnerable. Suddenly Richard felt furious. How could the Nightmares still play the victims when everybody was suffering just as much as they were? Even though his heart was hurting so much that it felt like it was about to break, he would never take it out on innocent people.

\- “The prince is planning to destroy us all!” yelled the possessed Ashei as she rallied the other soldiers. “He will travel back to the real world and destroy our allies who escaped. Then the Wind Fish will wake up and everything will disappear!”

Ashei’s voice sounded hoarse like she was trying to hold back her tears. Richard felt a pang of guilt, but had to remind himself that those weren’t her own words. Of course, he was also terrified of what was awaiting them but he couldn’t forgive the Nightmares who had done this to his brave soldiers.

During the final battle with Delarin, Ashei had been the first one of the frog soldiers to leap forward even though she knew that it might be suicide. Richard remembered the heartfelt reunion when Ashei had returned home again in one piece and how her husband and daughter had run up to her and embraced her with tears in their eyes.

He just wanted everybody to make the best of the little time they had left. Why did things have to turn out like this? Richard couldn’t help but feel useless. His soldiers had given him so much and been there for him during his darkest moments but he couldn’t even repay them.

When all hope seemed lost, he heard a knock on the window.

_Marin!_

He tried to call out to her but he could only croak miserably. But then he saw the Sea Lily’s Bell in the corner of the room. It was still shining purple so there must be some of the witch’s magic left in it. Maybe Marin could use it as a weapon? He tried his best to point at the bell and hoped that Marin would understand.

Thankfully, Ashei’s attempts to rally the soldiers had proven unsuccessful because they had all been too drunk to understand what she was saying. For once Richard was grateful for their bad drinking habits.

When Ashei had her back turned, Marin quietly snuck inside. She immediately freed the distressed prince from the bottle. The frog prince desperately tried to communicate but the songstress just looked confused.

Then Ashei turned around and let out a warrior cry. They had been spotted! Marin hugged Richard tightly and they both shut their eyes as the possessed soldier readied her weapon. Ashei aimed at Richard but Marin protected him with her body. She cried in pain as Ashei’s sword tore her dress open and blood poured out of her leg.

If this was their final moments at least they would be together. Richard had been prepared to quietly fade away alone in his villa without anybody noticing. The lonely prince was grateful for the short time he had together with Marin. Since Grandpa went missing he didn’t really have a family. He had been so happy when Marin and Tarin had invited him over for dinner.

Suddenly the Sea Lily’s Bell shone brightly and floated up into the air as holy water poured out of it. The Nightmare possessing Ashei let out a scream and let go of her. The female warrior slumped over like a sack of potatoes.

Richard hurried over to her to check her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he could feel her heartbeats. Her pulse was weak and she would probably need to see a doctor but at least she was still alive. Richard took her bow and gave it to Marin so she would have something to protect herself with if the Nightmare came back.

Richard rang the bell and turned back into a handsome prince. Marin jumped in surprise when she witnessed the sudden transformation but then they both started laughing. They laughed so hard that tears fell down their cheeks. The soldiers, who were still too drunk to grasp the situation, told them to quiet down because their heads were killing them. This just made Richard and Marin laugh even harder.

The duo decided to pack their bags and immediately head over to the Wind Fish’s Egg after Richard had called Mr. Write. He was retired but had once been both a world famous doctor and tycoon. Richard wished that he would have gotten to enjoy his retirement in peace instead of being dragged into this mess but he felt like he didn’t have a choice.

The kind old doctor had once had the misfortune of being catfished by a strange woman named Christine. Apparently she had tricked the poor old man by pretending to be a beautiful blonde princess from a foreign land in order to get her hands on his fortune. Mr. Write had eventually been suspicious of the hoof marks on the letters and asked Prince Richard to help him track down the traitor. They had both been shocked when it turned out that Christine was actually a goat.

When the prince had confronted her about it, she had just snorted and asked what the difference was between her and his beloved witch princess who had ditched him and married his best friend for money. Richard had been hurt by her words but tried his best not to show it.

Somewhere deep down, he knew that she might have a point. Prince Comal’s relationship with the princess was mostly based of superficial attraction and economic reasons since the Mille-Feuille Kingdom had suffered after the war against the Croakians. It was probably more of a political marriage than one based on love. At least it was a relief to know that somebody would take care of his beloved princess when he was gone.

Richard remembered the story of the Little Mermaid that Grandpa had read to him as a small child. The mermaid’s last words had hit him right in the chest.

_If you don’t have love you will always be alone. No matter who you’re with you will always be alone._

It might have been ironic to worry about others in his situation but Richard couldn’t help but wonder if Prince Comal was the one who was truly all alone even though he was surrounded by people.

\- “Richard! How do I look?”

Marin’s voice woke him from his daydreams. He had suggested that she should discard her bloodied sundress and change into a more practical outfit. She had borrowed one of his outfits and now they were both dressed as princes.

\- “You look like you could be my older brother.” laughed Richard.

\- “Well, excuse me, Prince Richard! I think you mean older sister.” said Marin in an exaggerated high-pitched voice and stuck her tongue out.

The prince and the songstress dressed as a prince had been ready to take on the world as they both stepped out of the door while smiling confidently. However, Prince Richard had disappeared into a white cloud of dust as soon as they stepped out of the door. Dark thunderclouds were covering the sky and the rain was pouring down.

The two heroes felt like zeros and went back inside to wait out the rain. Marin lit up the fireplace and cuddled with the cute frog prince. Maybe they should just let destiny run its course and _wait at home_ in the warmth together.

When the bad weather didn’t seem to ease up, Prince Richard made the most difficult decision in his whole life. He handed the Sea Lily’s Bell over to Marin.

\- “But I can’t do it on my own!” cried Marin.

\- “I believe in you.” croaked the frog prince.

Despite having neither the Frogslator nor the Don Gero’s Mask in her inventory, Marin understood the frog prince’s words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashei borrows her name from the female warrior from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.


	13. A Warm Family

Marin giggled when she saw the proud prince’s embarrassed expression. She had sewn a small purse using the fabric from the striped blue bedsheets from Richard’s bed. Now the small frog prince was being carried around in the purse with only his head sticking up.

\- “You’re the cutest!” giggled Marin.

\- “I’m not cute.” mumbled the embarrassed frog prince.

Marin had to drop her umbrella when a pack of Moblins ambushed them. With heavy conscience, she had to defeat her former friends using the magical Sea Lily’s Bell. Both Marin and Richard had been surprised by how strong the bell’s magic actually was. Apparently the water magic had become even stronger because of the heavy rain. The Nightmares hadn’t counted on that.

When they reached the Tal Tal Heighs the rocks were very slippery because of the rain. Marin tried to climb but kept losing her grip. She cried in frustration after having tried for over an hour.

\- “Maybe we should take a break and try to think of something else.” said Richard softly.

Marin felt disappointed in herself but nodded. They were both drenched at this point and Marin’s butt was still hurting after the fall. Luckily they had found a cottage near the mountain and the farmer living inside had been kind enough to let them take cover from the rain. He was a tall man with a moustache and spoke in an Italian accent. He introduced himself as Loigi. When he saw Marin his eyes lit up and he gave her a hug even though she was completely drenched.

\- “Malin!” said the Cucco Keeper. “You have grown so much since I last saw you! How is my brother Tarin doing?”

Marin gulped nervously. Tarin had told her that he had a younger brother who lived in the mountains but she had never visited him before. Marin sat down next to the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa that her uncle had been kind enough to brew for her. He had also placed some bugs on a plate for Richard but the former prince had too much pride to eat them even though his stomach was rumbling.

When they sat down at the fireplace, the old farmer smiled and started asking Marin questions about her childhood.

\- “I remember that you were often sick when you were little. We were worried that you weren't going to survive past childhood but now you've grown into a beautiful young woman!” laughed the farmer.

Richard suddenly felt a pit in his stomach. Marin looked really sad and he wanted to ask her what was wrong but then he remembered that he couldn’t speak to her when he was a frog. The frog prince wondered if this was how the mermaid must have felt after the evil witch had cut off her tongue and forced her to spend her last few days in silence.

Finally Marin spoke but her voice was so quiet that it sounded more like a whisper.

\- “I’m not Malin.” said Marin. “She was Tarin’s daughter.”

The old farmer’s smile died and he looked down. Richard finally realized why Marin had never referred to Tarin as her father. They weren’t related by blood. Marin’s uncle excused himself and went into the kitchen. There was an uncomfortable silence until Marin finally spoke again.

\- “When I was a baby I was abandoned by my parents. He thought I was a splitting image of his late daughter and offered to take care of me.”

Marin looked at the chickens in her uncle’s coop and recalled the painful memory of Malon and Talon. Maybe she should be happy that there was another world where her beloved father and the sister she had never met lived happily together but she just felt jealous. Sometimes she wondered if she was just a replacement for his real daughter.

Richard jumped up in Marin’s knee and shook his head. Marin was surprised that he had managed to read her thoughts. He had felt the warmth between Marin and her father and didn’t doubt for a second that they were truly family even though they weren’t related by blood.

\- “I can’t believe that Tarin has such a young wife. To think that my dear brother would get tricked a gold-digger!” groaned the farmer.

Marin and Richard looked confused for a second but then they both started laughing hysterically. They laughed so hard that their stomachs started to hurt. Except Richard wasn’t laughing, he was mostly just croaking.

\- “Sir! I think you must have misunderstood!” laughed Marin as tears fell down her cheeks.

The old farmer looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. He wondered how he could possibly make up for his mistake. Then he saw the blue cucco that Link had left behind after entering the Eagle’s Tower.

\- “How about you bring Cojiro with you?” asked the embarrassed farmer in a desperate attempt to change the subject. “He is quite reliable when venturing through the rocky terrain since he can fly unlike the other cuccos.”

Marin and Richard suddenly lit up. Maybe there was still hope for them after all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malin borrows her name from Malin's Bay in Breath of the Wild. 
> 
> Apparently Marin and Tarin aren't related by blood. In an interview they even joked that Marin might just be a little gold-digger!


	14. If You Kiss a Frog

Marin and Richard were flying. Even though the rain was unforgiving and death was staring them in the eye, they felt light. Marin laughed and pointed at Mabe Village.

\- “Our house looks so small from over here!”

Richard remembered how he would look out from his castle’s tower and think the same. It was much more fun when you had somebody to share the beautiful view with.

When they landed at the egg they thanked the blue rooster. As they watched him fly away they took a deep breath and tried to collect themselves. Both Marin and Richard were nervous since they weren’t sure if their plan would succeed.

Marin had already visited the Wind Fish’s Egg once and wished to become free as a bird in afterlife. But after meeting the prince and realizing how much he truly loved the people of Koholint Island she had started to wonder if her initial wish might have been too selfish.

What about Tarin, her kind father who loved her just as much as he had loved his own daughter?

What about Papahl’s youngest son who had just said his first words?

What about her neighbours Grandma Yahoo and Grandpa Ulrira who always helped others without asking for anything in return?

Since Richard had been the very person who had buried the magnifying glass under the mermaid statue, he knew how to navigate inside of the egg. Marin had been a bit hesitant to jump into the dark abyss but then she remembered that everybody on the island relied on her. She shut her eyes tightly, mustered up all of her courage and jumped. She accidentally stepped on Richard when she landed and tried her best to apologize to the small frog prince who was croaking angrily.

Marin picked up Richard to check if he was alright. He had been hurt by the fall so she applied some of Crazy Tracy’s medicine on his wounds. Richard calmed down and tried to croak an apology. Maybe he had just snapped under the pressure. They were in this together after all.

Suddenly a dark creature appeared behind Marin and she was so shocked that she dropped Richard. The monster leapt forward but halted when it saw the Sea Lily’s Bell. The Nightmare had thought that they had already destroyed all of the Instruments of the Sirens. Why did the songstress have that cursed bell that would toll to announce everybody’s deaths?

\- “If the Wind Fish wakes up, our world will disappear! We could have all lived together in peace just like you wanted. We could have created a paradise!” cried the Nightmare.

Prince Richard couldn’t help but doubt himself when he heard the Nightmare’s desperate plea. He remembered when both monsters and humans all lived together in peace and helped each other out. The news of the paradise island where all monsters were welcome, had spread across the ocean.

Even some monsters that were rumoured to have come from other worlds started to migrate to Koholint Island. Richard once met two Shy Guys who just wanted to settle down and live a peaceful life. They were disgusted with their boss who kept using them in order to stalk and sexually harass innocent women.

The islanders had loved their prince who had wanted to give everybody a fair chance. When his friend Prince Comal had raised an eyebrow and wondered if he was secretly planning to become some kind of evil overlord with all of these dungeons and monsters, he had just laughed. Back then he would never have guessed what cruel fate was awaiting him.

When Richard was lost in his thoughts, the Nightmare tried to grab him with one of his tentacles in order to use him as a hostage and force the songstress to hand over the bell in return for his life. However, Marin was quicker and pulled out Ashei’s bow. With a well-aimed shot she hit the Nightmare right in the eye.

The Nightmare let out a scream and fell down into the puddle with a loud splash. However, the Nightmare wasn’t defeated and started transforming into a giant shadowy snake.

\- “Delarin! But Prince Comal has already defeated him. How is it possible?” cried Richard.

Richard remembered the thick book where the dark secrets of Koholint Island were written. Grandpa had showed him a picture of a giant snake coiled around the Wind Fish’s Egg. Grandpa had explained that it was called “The World Egg”. When the snake swallowed the egg, the chick would never hatch and suffer for an eternity.

\- “Hurry! Before he wakes up again go to the Wind Fish and make your wish!” yelled Marin suddenly.

\- “B-but…” croaked Richard weakly.

Marin picked up the crying frog prince and smiled at him. She gave him one last hug and wiped his tears away with her handkerchief.

\- “I have decided that I’m going to protect everybody. Don’t worry about me; I’m much stronger than I look. You’re the one who made me realize that!” laughed Marin and spun the bell around.

When she danced, the water around her twirled and music notes floated in the air. Her cape looked very cool when she moved, like she was a real warrior princess.

Marin giggled and suddenly her face was very close to Richard’s. She gave the frog prince a kiss and broke the witch’s curse. Richard transformed back into a prince again even though they were surrounded by water.

With a heavy heart, Richard walked up the stairway to heaven. The prince was among the stars now; it felt like he had stepped into one of the fairy-tales his grandfather had read to him as a small child. It felt almost magical and the prince finally felt at ease. He wished that he could have showed this place to his dear friend Prince Comal.

When he reached the top, he was greeted by the mysterious owl. For some reason he looked familiar. Richard jumped in surprise when the owl transformed into a large whale decorated with beautiful jewellery.

_The Wind Fish!_

But for some reason the Wind Fish seemed disappointed. He looked at the former prince like he was something the cat had dragged in.

\- “Thou art my son, Prince Richard von Kanalet. I created thou in my image. Why must thou defy your fate? It is in the nature for all dreams to end. Thou shall turn into sea foam at dawn and return to the sea where thou came from!”

Richard screamed as a surge of water carried him away. The world went white and Richard felt his consciousness slip away. Before he passed out he saw an image of Grandpa with his back turned, facing the mural of the Southern Face Shrine.

When the prince woke up, he realized that he had a fish tail. Richard panicked and tried to pull off his tail and much to his surprise it actually worked. The prince sighed in relief that he wouldn’t have to cut off his tongue to see the Prince of Sablé again.

He was sitting on a rock at the bay and saw a ship in the distance. Loud music and laughter from drunken people could be heard in the distance.

Not knowing what else to do, Richard slipped into his mermaid suit again and swam towards the ship. When he came closer he could see a handsome prince with a flute in his hand who looked depressed even though today was the day he would get married.


	15. The Owls Are Not What They Seem

Prince Richard wasn’t used to feeling invisible. He had always impressed his peers with his various skills. He wasn’t just talented in fencing but also art and music. At a young age he had been entrusted with an important position in the military and quickly climbed his way up to the top.

Richard had tried to call out to Prince Comal but the other prince didn’t seem to hear him. He just sighed and looked out at the ocean, like he wished he could be somewhere else. This made Richard infuriated. Did he realize how much he wished he could swap places with him and marry the beautiful princess instead?

Richard discarded his mermaid suit and climbed up a rope to get onto the ship’s deck. He wondered why Prince Comal couldn’t give him a hand. Did he really hate him that much?

But when Richard finally managed to crawl up to the deck, he realized something that made his blood run cold. He didn’t have a shadow.

Richard tried his best not to bump into any of the guests but soon he realized that he went right through them. Richard looked down at his hands and saw that they were transparent. It was like looking at a ghostly image. Richard felt a chill crawl up his spine. Was this his punishment for trying to defy God’s will?

Richard saw Jam and Madeline dancing and laughing. Doctor Arewo Stein panicked when he spilled some wine on his best suit. The girl from the shop who looked like little Red Riding Hood was over enjoyed that she had caught the bride’s bouquet. The drunken miners were singing and it didn’t sound very beautiful but it was the thought that counted.

The King of Sablé walked up to his son and started whispering to him that it was almost time for him to head into the chamber and meet his bride. Princess Tiramisu and Polnareff had already gone ahead to prepare for the wedding night. Richard wondered why Polnareff was so invested in the princess’ love life but he probably just wanted to protect the Mille-Feuille Kingdom from an economic crisis.

Prince Comal looked like he wanted to die of embarrassment when his father started lecturing him about the flowers and the bees. The King of Sablé said that it was time to create a new heir that would one day take over the throne. The king hoped that the princess would give birth to a healthy son.

Richard could never really wrap his head around Prince Comal’s relationship with his father. He didn’t doubt that the king loved his son somewhere deep down but he had a very strange way of expressing it. Prince Richard wondered if it was the Prince of Sablé’s upbringing that had made him so irresponsible with money. The king was quite materialistic and often gave Prince Comal money to make up for being an absent father.

Richard closed his eyes and recalled a memory from his childhood. He had just won the national fencing tournament for the 3rd year in a row. The King of Sablé, who was close friends with his grandfather and always had a soft spot for Richard, had called for a big celebration. Since it was also Prince Richard’s 12th birthday they had decided to hold a party at Richard’s ship and take a tour around the Custard Kingdom.

The King of Sablé walked up to the young Prince Richard and gave him a bear hug. They had laughed and the king said he was glad that his allies from the Custard Kingdom were so reliable. He was relieved that the prince from the neighbouring kingdom showed such a promising future within the military. Richard giggled when the king’s beard tickled his face.

Prince Comal had been so jealous that he had angrily left the ship’s deck. Why did everybody suddenly care so much about Richard just because he had won some stupid tournament? He angrily kicked a table and winced in pain when he stubbed his toe. Suddenly he heard the sound of something shattering. It was the glass statue that Richard had been working on for over a month. Prince Comal had panicked and tried to pick up the glass shards from the floor.

However, both Prince Richard and the king had heard the noise and rushed into the room. When the young prince had seen the statue he had worked so hard on in pieces on the floor he had started crying. His grandfather and the king had both tried their best to comfort him but the tears just wouldn’t stop.

He had told the Prince of Sablé that they weren’t friends anymore and rushed into his bedroom to cry into his pillow. Prince Comal had desperately tried to knock on his door and apologized profusely.

When Richard woke up again after having fallen asleep, he could hear the rain against the ship’s deck. Dark thunderclouds were covering the sky and the crew was trying their best to hurry back to the mainland before they got caught up in the storm.

At his bedside table, Richard saw the broken glass statue. It had originally been a statue of a bird but now it looked almost unrecognizable. Prince Comal had tried his best to glue it back together. Suddenly, Richard felt a pang of guilt. He could build a new statue but he couldn’t build a new Prince Comal. Richard decided to go looking for him so he could apologize for overreacting.

Richard snuck out of his room and went out to the ship’s deck. He was shocked when he realized that the storm was much worse than he had expected. Everybody was drenched by the rain and panicking. Suddenly a large wave shook the ship and made the crew scream as they grabbed onto everything they could find to avoid falling off the ship. Richard was about to head back inside when he realized that Prince Comal was missing. Then he saw something pink in the water. It was the prince’s cape!

Without thinking Richard dove into the dark and cold water. The prince was sinking fast because his cape had gotten really heavy when it was wet. The prince couldn’t swim so he had sunk into the ocean when the ship’s crew hadn’t heard his desperate cries for help.

Thankfully, Richard was a very good swimmer since he had always been surrounded by water. He was also in good shape after all the military training he had been forced to partake in. Prince Richard had practiced saving drowning people as a part of his training.

After having discarded the other prince’s cape, which was probably worth over a thousand nuts, he was able to grab onto Prince Comal and get his head above the surface so they could both breathe again.

Richard wasn’t thinking anymore, he was just concentrated on his mission. He couldn’t even feel his aching muscles anymore. For some reason it felt like the waves were carrying them forward. Was the Wind Fish helping them?

Finally, they reached the shore and Richard was completely exhausted. His wet hair was surprisingly long when it wasn’t curled and Richard tried to wipe it out of his face so he could get a better look at his wounded friend.

The prince wasn’t breathing so Richard immediately started preforming CPR. He had done it on mannequins before but never on an actual person. The young Prince Richard was very nervous but he didn’t have time for self-doubt. Richard started preforming chest compressions and exhale air into the other prince’s nose and mouth. He tried his best not to press too hard because he remembered that you shouldn’t press too hard when the subject was a child.

Despite his efforts, Prince Comal still wasn’t breathing. His hands and fingers looked blue and felt cold when Richard touched them. The morning sun started to peek over the horizon as tears fell down Richard’s cheek. Would he never see his friend again? He never even got the chance to apologize to him.

The young prince hugged his unconscious friend and prayed to the Wind Fish. He promised he would be forever faithful to him, if he could only see his friend again.

As if by magic, Prince Comal opened his eyes again. He was shaken but still alive. Richard threw himself at his chest and cried tears of joy. He didn’t even care that his friend was puking all over him when he coughed up the salty seawater.

Both of the princes laughed when Richard told him how he had to breathe air into his nose when it was full of snot. Richard realized that he had gotten some sea weed stuck in his hair and tried to get it off. Prince Comal giggled and said that it served him right for being such a vain jerk and threw a sea cucumber at him.

Prince Richard was still dreaming about his happy childhood days when the mysterious owl suddenly appeared. The guests were drunk and snoring because they had exhausted themselves while partying so hard. Richard was staring blankly at the sea and thought about the meaning of life.

The owl broke the silence and started speaking. His voice sounded deep but was somehow calming. Richard swallowed and finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind ever since he had seen the owl for the first time at the beach.

\- “Grandpa?” whispered Richard quietly.

The owl sighed and spread his wings out. He glowed and transformed into an old man. He was dressed in traditional Japanese clothes and held onto a red crutch shaped like a seashell. He was the king of the Ocean, Oshus. The old man had taken both the shape of a wise owl and a leviathan.

\- “My dear grandson, Prince Richard von Kanalet.” said the king of the ocean softly.

He slowly walked up to Richard and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. Richard was sobbing and his voice was hoarse when he spoke.

\- “Why did this happen to us? Nobody on the island deserved this, not even the Nightmares. It is _not_ fair!” cried the heartbroken prince.

The sun had set and it was starting to get dark. The old man’s golden eyes glowed in the dark. He had a strange look in his eyes but Richard didn’t notice because he had tears in his eyes and the old man’s eyebrows were so bushy that they almost covered his whole face. Under his thick beard the old man was grinning.

After all, the Nightmares were also created from his mind. Just like the islanders, they were a reflection of his heart. Now the Nightmare had taken over and was in control of the Wind Fish. But they still had one last enemy who needed to be defeated.

\- “There is still hope for us.” said the possessed old man.

Through his tears, Prince Richard saw a small knife in the Ocean King’s hand. Oshus explained that the knife was made of force gems and had special magical powers. The prince hesitantly took it.

\- “You must stab the Prince of Sablé before the morning sun peeks over the horizon. As his blood is sacrificed, his life energy will be transferred into the knife and the people of Koholint Island will regain their corporeal forms again.” said the Ocean King.

As the Ocean King transformed back into an owl, Prince Richard slowly walked towards the royal couple’s chamber. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore, he just felt his feet glide over the floor like he was possessed by an invisible force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Ocean King Oshus borrows his name from The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
> 
> "The owls are not what the seem" is a quote from Twin Peaks which served as inspiration for Link's Awakening.


	16. The Mermaid's Ghost

Richard strode forward with a determined look on his face. When he was still in the military he had always tried to stay calm and collected. It was the princess who had made his façade break, exposing his real vulnerable self.

After having walked through the seemingly endless corridor, he arrived at the royal couple’s chamber. The room was covered in scarlet red and the smell of princess’ perfume lingered in the air.

Richard moved slowly, like a graceful cat creeping up on its prey. He peeked inside of the velvet canopy and saw the prince and the princess sleeping peacefully. Much to his surprise the princess wasn’t transformed. Their wedding night must have been so passionate that she had used up all of her magic to become a woman worthy of the prince’s love.

Richard could see her naked body under the transparent scarlet blanket. She had gone up in weight and her cellulitis were showing through the fabric. She was wearing seductive lingerie that looked uncomfortable. Being a few sizes too small her lacy stockings with garter belts hugged onto her thick thighs, leaving red marks. Even though it had been her wedding night, she was facing the opposite direction of the Prince of Sablé. There was a large stain of blood on the sheets that seemed to come from the inside of her thigh. Looking at her made Richard’s heart ache.

Richard looked at the Prince of Sablé’s peaceful sleeping face. He was smiling as if he was satisfied with what he had accomplished. The former prince bit his lip and felt something ugly and dark stir inside of his chest, waiting to be released. His chest was welling up with anger, despair and jealousy.

Richard bit his lip and readied his knife. He crept up closer to the sleeping prince and raised his knife up in the air. A worthless cad like the Prince of Sablé wasn’t worthy of his beautiful princess. If the pure souls of Koholint Island had to suffer while somebody like the Prince of Sablé got to live a comfortable life in luxury, then there was truly no justice in the world.

Suddenly, the Prince of Sablé turned around. Prince Richard's blood ran cold and it felt like his heart was about to pop out of his chest. He gasped and dropped the knife on the floor. Thankfully, the prince had only stirred in his sleep.

Richard studied the sleeping prince’s face. He never realized that he had such long eyelashes. His cheeks were still round which made him look much younger than he actually was. Suddenly, Richard felt something hot against his hand.

He pulled off his glove and to his surprise he noticed that his ring was glowing. The ring had been a present that the Prince of Sablé had bought during his travels to foreign lands. It was called a Friendship Ring and was made by the famous jeweller Vasu.

The snake-charmer had claimed that his rings had magical powers and being the naïve clueless idiot that he was, the Prince of Sablé had of course fallen for it. The young prince had read that giving somebody a ring meant that you would be _together forever_. When Prince Comal had gone down on one knee like a knight and slowly put the ring on Richard’s finger, the whole castle had giggled and stared. Richard had told him that he was a moron but had still kept the ring and worn it every day.

But now it seemed like the ring truly did have magical powers. Maybe it was trying to prevent Richard from doing something he would regret later. Richard suddenly felt faint and dropped to his knees.

Richard thought about the Little Mermaid who had given up her life to let the selfish prince, who had hurt her so badly, live happily with another woman. When he was little he didn’t like that ending. The young Richard had hated the prince and wanted the mermaid to be reunited with her sisters who had sacrificed their beautiful hair in vain.

_I love him more than life itself._

Richard sighed and picked up the knife. The brave prince, who had accepted his destiny, leaned over and planted a kiss on his princess’s forehead. He smiled when he noticed that she was still wearing the red ribbon he gave to her so many years ago, even though she was way too old for it now.

He turned around and walked out of the chamber. Not even once did he look back. Even though his heart was hurting, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Maybe the Nightmares had possessed him and brought out the worst in him.

It was almost dawn and the sun was casting its light over the waves. The prince stood at the railing and threw the cursed knife into the ocean. In the sunlight of dawn the Nightmare inhabiting the knife dissolved and let out a heart wrenching scream before it returned to the ocean, where it was born.

_To love somebody is a wonderful thing but it is equally important to love yourself._

The mermaid’s words echoed in Richard’s mind. He had thought that it sounded ironic coming from somebody who devalued herself so much but now he finally understood the meaning of those words.

If the seemingly vain Prince Richard had said that he didn’t love himself, nobody would have believed him. But despite his vanity, there had always been something else inside of his chest, something he couldn’t explain. Like some kind of melancholy. He had once read in a book that sometimes melancholy takes the form of narcissism because the suffer feels so sorry for themselves in the depth of their being. He had never been able to wrap his head around that concept.

Richard closed his eyes as the sea breeze played with his hair. He would become one with the ocean, where he had been born and raised. When he dissolved into sea foam, he wanted to rock gently in the waves of the prince’s ship.

When he was ready to jump into the ocean, he could hear somebody calling his name. First quietly, then a little louder and finally so loud that it echoed across the whole ocean.

Richard untied the ribbon of his cape and let the wind carry it away. When his elegant white cape blew in the wind it looked like a white flag. A symbol of giving up and being defeated once and for all.

Prince Richard clasped his hand together and prayed as he let the ocean swallow his spiritual body that no longer needed a corporeal form.

Richard thought about the name his grandfather had cursed him with and how King Richard II had died as a royal martyr, causing so much blood to be spilled during the civil war that would go on for two generations. If there was one regret that he had, it was that he couldn’t save his people.

_Marin._

He wanted to see her smile again.

\- “RICHARD!” cried the Prince of Sablé in despair.


	17. The Lonely Ogre

Prince Comal would always remember the Japanese fairy-tale his father had read to him as a small child. The tale of the Red Ogre and the Blue Ogre.

The Red Ogre wanted to make friends with all the children in the village but his fearsome appearance scared everybody away. The Red Ogre, who was very kind, wanted their attention so desperately. The Blue Ogre was touched by the Red Ogre’s kind heart and offered to help him become popular with everybody in the village. The Blue Ogre would pretend to cause havoc in the village so the Red Ogre would get his chance to shine and become a hero.

The Red Ogre had been over enjoyed when the plan had worked. Now all the children would invite him over for dinner and everybody would praise him.

But then one day the Red Ogre wondered where the Blue Ogre had went because he hadn’t heard from him in a while. He decided to go visit the Blue Ogre’s home in the mountains but when he arrived his house was empty.

The Blue Ogre had left a note to the Red Ogre that the villagers would become suspicious if he was friendly with him, so he had decided to leave on a journey and never come back.

The Red Ogre wept over his lost friend, having finally realized that he had lost the one person who truly loved him in favour for the ones who never really cared about him.

The Prince of Sablé would never have thought that he would relate to the Red Ogre so much. He would never have guessed that one day his friend would disappear without a trace.

The Prince of Sablé was anxiously waiting in bed for his wife. She was still getting ready and had promised him a surprise that was so sexy that it would be the best night in his whole life. But no matter how much the Prince of Sablé tried his best to be a good husband, he didn't feel excited at all.

He closed his eyes and thought about Richard. During the banquet he had seen a vision of Richard in the distance. The other prince had been sitting at a rock and had a mermaid’s fish tail. When he had told his father what he had seen, Richard was already gone. The king scolded him and reminded him that he shouldn’t be drunk on his wedding night.

Suddenly the princess emerged from the thin curtains. She was wearing high heels and was dressed as a playboy bunny from the bar that the Prince of Sablé used to visit together with the miners. She had used magic to make her breasts and butt larger. Her skin was milky white and her pale pink lips were curved in a seductive smile that almost looked convincing.

_Almost._

The princess stumbled a little because she wasn’t used to wearing high heels. Prince Comal had never felt more awkward in his whole life when he watched her dance. She swayed her hips seductively and shook her butt.

Even though they had spent every day together for the last nine months, it still felt forced somehow. The king had paid for expensive vacations and activities so they could bond before their wedding but since it was all arranged, it didn’t feel genuine.

Shouldn’t a relationship start with both people having feelings for each other? The king had waved his protests away and said that they had plenty of time to get to know each other after the wedding.

The princess noticed her husband’s lack of interest and decided to change her strategy. She used her magic to transform into another woman, an Asian princess with small and beautiful breasts and lustrous red lips. The embarrassed prince, who felt highly uncomfortable at this point, cleared his throat and tried to speak up.

\- “That’s not it…” he mumbled.

The princess misunderstood the prince’s words and changed herself again, this time she became a redhead with freckles and a tomboyish pixie haircut. She was dressed as a nurse and started taking off her panties seductively.

\- “That’s not what I meant!” said the Prince of Sablé who just wanted to sink through the floor and disappear.

The princess’ smile started to look more and more forced when she transformed yet again. This time she became a belly dancer with skin darker than the night sky and breasts so big that she had trouble balancing on her high heels.

The Prince of Sablé felt a knot in his stomach and desperately tried to think of an excuse to get himself out of the situation.

\- “Sorry, honey. You see, I drank so much wine during the banquet so we might have to go to sleep early tonight…” stammered the prince.

Having run out of magic, the princess suddenly transformed back into her real self. The sexy lingerie she was wearing suddenly looked uncomfortably tight and she looked really awkward when she stood there frozen, while still posing seductively. The witch princess tried to look for her glasses and accidentally knocked over a table full of exotic fruits. When she finally found her glasses, she saw the prince’s distraught expression.

In a fit of anger the princess threw the bunny ears on the floor. Her face was red and beads of sweat ran down her forehead after having danced like crazy to please her husband.

\- “Richard would have accepted all of them!” she screamed and ran out of the room.

\- “Then why didn’t you marry him instead!?” the Prince of Sablé finally snapped.

Prince Comal’s blood ran cold when she came back with a knife in her hand. She cut up her inner thigh and bled all over the bed. At first the prince was both horrified and confused but then he realized.

She was trying to “prove” that she had lost her virginity tonight. The King of Sablé and Polnareff would hold up the sheet together in the morning and cheer for the birth of a new heir. They probably didn’t know that the idea of the hymen always bleeding after losing your virginity was just a myth.

The princess laid down on the bed as far away from Prince Comal as possible. Even though he was exhausted he couldn’t fall asleep because of the awkwardness of the whole situation. He suddenly wished he was alone in his own bed.

Eventually his eyelids got heavy and he started to doze off. Before he fell asleep he could hear a muffled sob from the other side of the king sized bed.

\- “Richard was just like an older brother to me…” cried the mourning witch.

When Prince Comal fell asleep he dreamt about his childhood with Richard. He remembered how Richard had tried to teach him how to swim in the ocean. He had held him up in the water and tried to show him how to float. But even though Prince Richard was such a good teacher, he had never been able to swim on his own. Without Richard, the traumatic memory of his lungs being filled by water as he tried to call for help, made his whole body numb.

Prince Comal wished that he could see him again. This time he wouldn’t care about something as stupid as proving his superiority and gaining superficial popularity with the ladies. He wanted to apologize to him and tell him that he was truly grateful for all the things he had done for him.

A sudden noise woke the prince up. It sounded like a scream from a dying animal, so the prince flew up and ran out on the deck to check where the sound came from. When he saw Richard’s familiar white cape he couldn’t believe his eyes. Prince Comal tried calling out to him softly.

Prince Comal was filled with so many conflicting emotions. He felt relieved that Richard was still alive but confused as to why he had just disappeared. He felt angry because he had made him worry so much but sad when he realized what he might have been through after the beast had approached his kingdom.

If Richard was here, what had happened to Koholint Island? A whole island couldn’t just disappear from the surface of the earth.

_Or could it…?_

Richard sobbed and stumbled towards the railing. Was he just drunk? Maybe Prince Comal hadn’t seen him at the banquet because there had been so many people. Maybe he had been drinking to forget about his lost love?

At this point Prince Comal just felt frustrated and called out a little louder. Then it all happened very fast.

When Richard stood up at the railing and prepared to jump into the ocean, Prince Comal eyes shot up. He froze for a moment and then started running while screaming at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately, Richard’s cape had blown right into his face causing him to fall and trip. The prince swore and tried to get the cape out of his face but he only got more and more tangled up, until he looked like a bedsheet ghost.

When he finally got the cape off, Richard was already gone. Prince Comal cried his name as he watched him sink into the ocean. If he jumped into the water he wouldn’t be able to save him because he didn’t know how to swim. But then again swimming had been so easy when he was a frog.

Despite his better judgement, Prince Comal dove into the water. He felt every cell in his body scream in pain as the cold water caused his transformation to begin. But the prince was so determined to save his friend that he refused to give in. His skin was green and he was half-transformed when he dove after Richard and finally managed to grab onto him.

While Prince Richard had always been mindful of his appearance due to his vain nature, Prince Comal hadn’t expected him to be this light. It was like he was lighter than a feather.

Prince Comal realized that they had already lost sight of the ship and panicked. Then he saw the beautiful paradise island’s shore and it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It almost felt like a mirage, like it was too good to be true.

When he finally reached the shore, Prince Comal collapsed and transformed into a frog. Even though he was exhausted, he couldn’t rest until he made sure Richard was safe.

He recalled the incident during their childhood and jumped up on Richard’s chest and tried to breathe air into his nose. He soon realized that it wouldn’t work because he was a frog. Prince Comal felt ashamed that he couldn’t even return the favour and started crying as he nuzzled his friend’s face.

Suddenly, he heard singing and saw a beautiful woman walking alongside the beach. She had just appeared out of nowhere, like a guardian angel. Prince Comal croaked desperately and jumped onto the confused songstress’ head. When she saw Richard lying unconscious on the beach, she dropped her basket full of fruit and fish and ran as fast as she could.

Marin acted fast and gave Richard the kiss of life. She had done this before when she had found Link unconscious at the beach. Marin just realized that she hadn’t thought about Link in a long time. The bitter memory of his betrayal suddenly felt very distant.

Much to the frog prince’s and the songstress’ relief, Richard started coughing up water. He was breathing again but was still too weak to stand. Tears rolled down Marin’s face as she smiled and cupped his face before giving him another kiss. Prince Comal’s eyes widened and an embarrassed croak escaped his mouth but since he was just a frog, Marin didn’t pay attention to him.

After collecting herself for a brief moment, Marin picked up Richard and carried him like a princess. Since she was a real island girl, she was used to be self-sufficient, so she was actually very strong. Marin couldn’t help but wonder why she used to be so helpless. In hindsight it felt almost ironic that she had been pining for a hero who wasn’t really a hero at all.

Marin left the beach and the bitter memory behind and strode forward to Nakura’s old house. When they were inside, she tucked Richard into bed and stroked his cheek. That was the moment she realized what her wish was.

Marin kissed the prince’s forehead and swore to protect him with her life.

The helpless frog prince watched them from the corner of the room. When he remembered his own failed marriage, he felt his chest fill up with envy.

He had finally realized that he was stranded on an island with no means to escape back to his comfortable life in luxury in the real world. Prince Comal cried out in anger and frustration but all that could be heard was his miserable croaks.


	18. The Prince of Nightmares

Normally Richard liked to go fishing at the sea but today he just laid down in the boat and stared at the vast blue sky. The former prince wondered if the sun was just an illusion. If he built a space ship would he be able to go to the stars?

Marin, who was usually very chatty, was oddly quiet today. While Richard didn’t mind the silence, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was hiding something. Richard closed his eyes and listened to the waves and the seagulls crying in the distance. Marin giggled and leaned over to give him a kiss.

\- “Are you asleep?” asked the lovely songstress.

Richard suppressed a yawn and sat up in the boat. He looked at the bucket full of worms. They hadn’t gotten any luck today when it came to fishing.

\- “Are you trying to cheer me up?” smiled the prince.

Marin’s smile looked a little bit sad and she looked down at her lap.

\- “Actually, I wanted to talk to you privately…” whispered Marin softly as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Her hands were clasped together and she tried to find the words to describe the tragedy that had occurred when the prince was gone. She didn’t want her prince to be hurting anymore, she wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be OK. But Richard deserved to know the truth.

\- “Grandma Yahoo passed away yesterday.”

Richard wasn’t sure how to react. He wanted to say something profound and deep but it seemed like the tears had frozen inside of him. He looked out at the sea which looked vast and endless but was actually very, very small.

\- “She had a good life.” said Richard and closed his eyes.

He thought about the pictures of Grandma Yahoo and Grandpa Ulrira when they were younger. Grandma Yahoo in her wedding dress and her blonde hair tied up in a knot. Richard remembered how he used to visit them when he was a child and sit in her rocking chair and giggling while rocking back and forth. When it was raining he would borrow his grandfather’s rubber boots that were a few sizes too large and sneak out of the castle to go visit them.

Marin seemed really nervous when she continued. Her hands were shaking at this point.

\- “But she was totally healthy. I saw her cleaning at Animal Village as usual.” continued Marin.

\- “She was old…” responded Richard.

In a way Richard couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous of the old couple. He tried to imagine a future together with Marin. They could have gotten married, had children and grown old together.

Richard shook his head and blushed. Ugh, what was he fantasizing about!?

Despite everything Marin couldn’t help but giggle when she saw her prince’s red cheeks. But she quickly collected herself and got serious again.

\- “Grandma Yahoo didn’t die a natural death.” whispered Marin even though they were alone at sea.

…Or actually, they weren’t alone. The Prince of Sablé was there too. He had decided to move into the purse that Marin had made to carry Richard. He hadn’t really planned to hijack their date; he had just ended up coming along since he had been asleep when Marin had grabbed the purse as the couple had headed out to go fishing.

\- “She just became more and more transparent until she eventually faded away…” said Marin.

The couple and their frog friend, who felt like an awkward third wheel at this point, sailed back to the mainland in silence. Richard gave Marin a quick kiss before heading back home. Prince Comal tried his best to keep up with his friend and hopped after him.

As Richard got undressed and headed into the bath, a million questions ran through Prince Comal’s mind. What the hell was happening to the island? Was Richard going to… die?

Richard had filled a small bowl for his frog friend to swim around in. There weren’t any Joy Fruits on the island and Richard didn’t transform anymore because Marin’s kiss had cured him. Prince Comal’s inability to communicate almost drove him insane.

Maybe this was his punishment for ignoring Richard when he had first transformed into a frog. But it wasn’t like he had done that on purpose!

Prince Comal woke up from his thoughts when he saw Richard's naked body. He gasped when he saw the deep scars and burn marks across his whole body. It looked like somebody had tortured him.

Prince Comal shifted uncomfortably in his bowl and tried not to throw up at the horrible sight. He felt tears burning in his eyes as his chest filled up with anger. Finally he couldn’t handle it anymore and leapt out of the bowl and ran out of the villa.

He wasn’t even sure where he was going but he couldn’t bear looking at Richard’s wounds without feeling guilty and ashamed. What had happened to Richard when he had been on a vacation with his “fiancée”? Prince Comal realized that it was probably unreasonable to blame himself since there was nothing he could do but he just felt so helpless.

Prince Comal was exhausted when he finally sat down on a lily pad to rest. He looked at his own reflection in the water and finally let the sad bitter tears pour out.

_Richard wasn’t supposed to die before him; they were supposed to always be together…_

Suddenly Prince Comal felt an intense pain in his back. He let out a scream as he felt something twisting inside of him. It was like he had been possessed by a demon. He cried in pain when a small pair of devil wings poked out of his back.

A small pink creature had heard his cries and hurried over to the pound to see what was going on. Kirby had been famous for his strength and had even been assigned an important position in the Eagle’s Tower where he would guard the holy instruments. Even though the green elf monster had immobilized him with his boomerang, he hadn’t given up on protecting the dreaming island.

Kirby tried to communicate with the frog prince but unfortunately they didn’t speak the same language.

The Prince of Sablé had witnessed Kirby’s strength in a strange dream that he had. The pink ball had fought against two mysterious monsters, one made of light and the other darkness. He had wanted to help so badly but he had been trapped inside of a glass casket and was unable to move. The monsters had captured Richard but he couldn’t even do anything to help since nobody heard him screaming from inside of his prison made of glass.

Suddenly Prince Comal was overcome with grief and anger. Despite his better judgement he leapt into the surprised puffball’s mouth. The two melted together into one and the prince felt proud of his newfound power. He decided to use Kirby’s ability to fly to reach the egg on the mountain. A voice in his head was whispering to him that if he protected the egg, his dear friend’s life would be spared.

That was the moment when Prince Comal decided that he was never going to be an onlooker ever again. He was going to save Richard no matter what the cost might be.

That was the day the Prince of Sablé became a villain and joined the Nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually there is an old anime where Kirby becomes possessed by an evil frog and starts wreacking havoc in the village...


	19. No Crying Until the End

It all began with the bananas. Tarin had always been a big eater but lately his appetite just seemed endless.

When Richard came to visit he had at first been grateful that Tarin had been such a generous host but this display of gluttony was just grotesque. The dinner table was full of chicken, steak, salmon, roasted ham, vegetables and fruits in the colour of the rainbow. Tarin was stuffing his mouth as if he was about to starve to death. He was hitting his stomach as if he was playing a drum and his laughter sounded strange and high-pitched.

At first Marin had tried her best to provide him with food but now she had collapsed onto the sofa exhausted. When Tarin kept laughing maniacally and spilled wine all over his shirt, Richard suggested that maybe they should head outside and get some fresh air.

Richard had decided to show her his favourite place which was located next to a cliff with the island’s most majestic waterfall. The prince could sit there for hours and just listen to the environmental sounds and forget about all of his worries.

The view from the cliff was breath-taking and the Wind Fish’s Egg could be seen in the distance. Even though it looked so small, it served as a constant reminder of their cruel fate. No matter where they went, the inescapable truth was always looming over them.

Marin sat down on the cliff and looked at the egg with sad eyes. Her thoughts seemed to be somewhere far away. It hurt Richard to see her eyes full of yearning. He wished that he could have travelled the world together with Marin. It would just have been the two of them and the vast beautiful ocean.

Richard had brought his easel with him and asked if he could paint Marin. He told Marin that she was beautiful and that the scenery was perfect.

\- “Do you want me to undress?” Marin giggled and winked at Richard.

Richard’s face turned redder than a tomato and his jaw dropped. Marin laughed so hard that her stomach hurt and tears fell down her cheeks.

\- “I’m just kidding!” laughed Marin and tried to wipe the tears away.

Richard kept painting in silence. Marin smiled at him and told him that he looked so cute when he was concentrating. His expression was serious and his brows furrowed as he blended the colours together into the perfect palette.

Finally Marin spoke up because she knew she had to address the elephant in the room eventually.

\- “Tarin has been acting strange lately. Do you think it’s because of the Nightmare’s influence? Are we dying together with the Wind Fish’s spirit?” asked Marin.

Richard looked Marin in the eyes and saw her serious but determined expression. He sighed and put the paintbrush down. He got up from where he was sitting and sat down next to Marin.

\- “I always knew that this was going to happen. But I was too weak to save anybody…” sobbed the former prince.

He burrowed his face in his hands and tried to hold back the tears. Marin embraced her lover and planted a kiss on his head.

\- “Don’t despair, my love. We will figure something out together.” whispered Marin softly in his ear. 

Meanwhile the Prince of Sablé had reached the Wind Fish’s Egg. He let go of Kirby and entered the egg. The Nightmare was waiting on the inside. It didn’t look like Delarin, Ganon or Dethl.

The Nightmare was a reflection of the Prince of Sablé himself.

Prince Comal felt himself transforming into a snake. He grew larger and larger until his head penetrated through the shell.

The giant snake, who had once been a handsome prince, coiled himself around the egg. The egg felt fragile as if it was about to fall apart at any moment. The snake prince tried to prevent the egg from breaking by embracing it with his large body.

Marin and Richard gasped in surprise when the sky darkened and a huge snake could be seen in the distance. The storm was brewing and the rain started pouring down. Thunder could be heard in the distance and the waves were high.

The star-crossed lovers embraced each other in the middle of the chaos. They gave each other one last long deep kiss before heading back to the village to say good-bye to Marin’s father.

Richard felt his courage return and decided that he wouldn’t cry or give up until the end.


	20. No Man Is an Island

Papahl’s son stared out at the ocean with a blank look on his face. He still remembered his encounter with the handsome prince who had told him stories of lands beyond the sea.

\- “When I grow up I’m going to become a soldier and sail across the sea!” proclaimed the little boy proudly and pointed at his chest.

But when the prince had heard those words he had just smiled sadly. He said that he should enjoy being a child while he still could. Adulthood would come sooner than he expected and then all the magic would be gone.

Papahl’s son continued to stare at the horizon but he just couldn’t figure it out. What was it that the elf and the prince had been talking about when they had said there was a world beyond the sea? He could only see water, water and even more water. But even if he couldn’t understand he still liked the concept of it. Papahl’s son smiled for no reason.

The small boy didn’t see the snake sneaking up on him. The Prince of Sablé felt his instincts take over him. He was quiet as a mouse as he snuck up on the child.

But there was something that held him back. Did he feel sympathy for the sad little dream that had taken the shape of a young boy?

The Prince of Sablé shook his head. If he wasn’t even real and if he was going to disappear anyway, why would it even matter?

But maybe it would matter to Richard. Because he treasured his people even more than his valued his own life. He would never forgive him for the “crime” that he was about to commit.

But he could live with that. The only thing that mattered now was saving Richard.

It had all happened so fast that the child didn’t even scream or let out a single noise. Prince Comal had expected to feel bad maybe even disgusted but he didn’t feel anything at all.

Marin, who had cried herself to sleep by Richard’s bed, woke up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread and fried eggs. She realized that somebody had tucked her into bed last evening.

When they had arrived at Mabe Village, Richard had suddenly collapsed on the ground. Tarin had unfortunately also been out cold because he had gotten sick from all the food he had eaten while Marin and Richard were gone. But Marin didn’t have time to feel bad; she had to get Richard in bed.

Marin panicked when she noticed her prince’s transparent hands. Was he going to fade away just like Grandma Yahoo did earlier? The fear of being left behind alone made Marin’s eyes fill up with tears and her whole body was shaking. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end!

She laid down next to Richard and ignored the fact that their relationship probably wasn’t in that stage yet when it wasn’t awkward to share a bed together. She just wanted to hold him and feel the little of the warmth that was left. Marin burrowed her face in his soft blue hair and inhaled Richard’s scent. The heartbroken songstress fell asleep to the smell of sea salt and the sound of the rain.

When Richard greeted her with breakfast on the bed and a sweet good morning kiss on the lips, Marin had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Suddenly she was overcome with joy and threw herself at the surprised prince. She didn’t care that she knocked over the tray that Richard had brought with him. She pushed him onto the bed and showered him with kisses as eggs and bacon flew in the air.

\- “Your father is still in the other room…” coughed Richard and looked away in embarrassment.

Marin pulled herself together and got serious again. She tried to fix her hair that had gotten messy after the make-out session on the bed. She quietly walked into her father’s room and saw him passed out on the couch. He had a fever and was breathing heavily. A racoon tail and ears were sticking out.

Marin remembered how Grandma Yahoo had warned Tarin to not go out in the woods alone because he might get cursed by the racoon. But Tarin had just shrugged and said that it was just some old Japanese folklore. Those juicy mushrooms had been too tempting.

Marin noticed how Tarin was almost completely transparent now. She cried as she held his hand one last time. Richard, who had watched them with tears in his eyes, walked up to Marin and embraced her from behind. Tarin opened his eyes one last time and wiped the tears away from Marin’s cheeks.

\- “I’m going to where Malin is.” whispered Tarin.

He was glad that he got to spend his last moments together with Marin. It would have been awful if he had faded away alone in the woods while dumbly looking for mushrooms for a dinner he would never be able to make.

\- “I’m going to tell her all about her wonderful sister.” smiled Tarin and took his last breath as he faded away.

After having comforted Marin, Richard tucked her into bed. He asked her if she wanted to be left alone but she shook her head. She had cried into his chest until she finally fell asleep.

After a while, Richard quietly slipped out of bed. He had to go out to check if the situation outside had changed. Strangely enough the weather was nice and the giant snake seemed to be gone.

The curse must have weakened Tarin so much that he had become an easy victim for the Nightmares. Why were they doing this? How had Richard survived when Grandma Yahoo and Tarin had quickly started to fade away?

Richard saw Papahl’s children playing outside as usual. The baby was sleeping peacefully in his crib together with his Yoshi doll. The older boys were playing catch as usual. But something didn’t seem right. Richard counted the children and realized to his horror that one of them was missing.

He hurried over to Papahl’s house and told him that one of his sons was missing. Papahl just looked confused and counted the children himself. He just shrugged and said that he didn’t think he had any more children. Richard wanted to yell at him and tell him that he was an irresponsible father but realized that it was probably better to keep quiet.

On his way out he saw one of Papahl’s sons play catch by himself. He was bouncing the ball against the wall and muttered under his breath that he had nobody to play with. He didn’t seem to remember his brother but watching him broke Richard’s heart.

What kind of useless prince was he who couldn’t even save a single child? Why hadn’t he fought together with his soldiers and died protecting his people? At least he would have died with some dignity!

Suddenly Richard was woken up from his miserable thoughts when he saw a snake creep up on the child. Richard acted quickly and sliced at the snake with his sword. The child yelled in surprise as Richard held him close to his chest. His sadness was suddenly replaced with anger. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt his people ever again!

The snake had hidden and Richard gritted his teeth. The child was shaking in his arms and held tightly on to his neck.

Suddenly the snake emerged from the bushes and Richard readied his sword. He felt the child’s weight around his shoulders and his wounds ached due to the sudden movements. Richard winched in pain and tried to hold back the tears. He couldn’t let the enemy see how vulnerable he actually was.

Richard couldn’t believe his eyes when the snake monster transformed into his dear friend Prince Comal. At first he thought that it must have been an illusion created by the Nightmares but then he looked him in the eyes.

Richard couldn’t read his former friend’s expression. He didn’t look sad or happy. He just looked determined, like he was focusing on an important mission. Finally Prince Comal spoke up.

\- “I’m going to save you, Richard. But only you.” said the snake prince.

Richard felt so many conflicting emotions and tried his best to collect his thoughts. The Prince of Sablé was neither smart nor vile enough to come up with such a crazy plan by himself. He must have been possessed by the Nightmares just like his soldiers. Or at least that was what he wanted to believe.

Richard opened his mouth and tried to reason with Prince Comal. Maybe if he reminded him of all the happy childhood memories they had together on the island and how kind everybody had been to him, he might return to his senses. But for some reason his voice seemed to have disappeared. He couldn’t even utter a single word.

Prince Comal held out his hand in a princely manner and suddenly smiled. His smile was soft and genuine. It warmed Richard’s heart. How long had he waited to see that smile again? He had to prevent himself from jumping right into his arms and cry into his chest.

\- “I love you, Richard. I can’t imagine living in a world without my dearest friend.” whispered Prince Comal softly.

The world was spinning and Richard’s eyelids suddenly felt heavy. He dropped the child who ran as fast as he could to the village. But Prince Comal didn’t bother chasing after him. He picked up the unconscious Richard like he was a kidnapped princess. He set foot towards the Wind Fish’s Egg where he would be able to watch Richard and keep him safe.

\- “Let’s go home together.” smiled Prince Comal and kissed his friend’s forehead.


	21. Eve and the Serpent

_Why would a snake want to get married to a princess?_

For once Princess Tiramisu was grateful that she hadn’t been blessed with good looks. She had inherited her father’s potato nose and had always been a little bit on the chubby side.

When Delarin and his men had invaded her palace, the princess had been working on a new spell in the basement. She needed all of her magic when she was doing her research so she hadn’t been transformed. She had also worn her favourite dark robes and a skull necklace to connect with the spirit world.

The vile snake had been looking all over the palace for the princess. He had planned to make her one of his concubines and slowly invade the neighbouring countries. Tiramisu had just calmly walked out of the castle since the villain wouldn’t even spare her a second glance.

\- “Men are all the same.” sighed the witch princess.

But maybe things didn’t have to be that way. She remembered how Richard had been as a child. He had been soft, kind and just a little bit of a cry baby. Lately it felt like he was just forcing himself to be somebody he was not. They had planned to open up an art gallery in the palace but the project had been abandoned because he had to focus on his military training. Even though he had said that he hated it and complained that he just wanted to focus on his art.

Tiramisu had researched how to kill the vile snake. She had found out that there was a sacred golden sword hidden in the mines. The only way to awaken the sword’s power was true friendship.

Tiramisu had decided to call Richard to help her pull out the sword. But no matter how hard he had tried, it just didn’t work. Not even his strongest soldier could do it.

\- “Maybe you should give it a try, Misu.” said Richard softly.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn’t help but smile when she heard her old nickname. But her smile died quickly and she shook her head. She had already tried a million times but the Snake Killer wouldn’t even budge.

\- “But maybe if you think about all of your friends that are in danger because of the Croakians…” tried Richard who had started to look really nervous at this point.

The witch bit her lip and looked down at her feet. It was embarrassing to admit that she didn’t really have anyone that she was close enough with that she would give up her life for them. People might have respected her due to her royal status but she had always been viewed as a little bit of an eccentric. When other noblewomen were attending parties and trying out expensive jewellery and dresses, she was working on improving her dark magic.

\- “Do you have a knight who would protect you with his life?” asked Tiramisu suddenly. "Because I think I might have a plan..."

Prince Richard immediately thought about Prince Comal. Then he slapped himself mentally. Why on earth would he want to rescue another man!? Richard wasn’t exactly a beautiful damsel in distress.

Besides Prince Comal was still not very good at fencing. Even if he had gotten a lot better lately. But that was just because he had been such a good teacher. Yeah, it was mostly thanks to his own supreme abilities that even somebody as hopeless and clumsy as the Prince of Sablé had been able to master the art of fencing!

… Or at least that was what he was trying to convince himself.

Even if he hated to admit it, Prince Comal was probably going to surpass him soon. Because he had actually been passionate about fencing while it had always been a chore to Richard, no matter how talented he might have been.

Suddenly the witch grabbed his hand and he jumped in surprise and blushed.

\- “Please! Anybody would be fine! Anybody you can think of!” pleaded Princess Tiramisu with tears in her eyes.

Richard shifted uncomfortably. Suddenly he regretted every stupid and mean thing he had ever said to Prince Comal. Sure, the other Prince had never been the sharpest tool in the shed but his lonely upbringing had probably affected his ability to socialize with others.

When he had pushed Prince Comal off the ship, it had all happened in the spur of the moment. Why did Prince Comal have to pursue _his _princess of all people? If he truly was his best friend, shouldn’t he want Richard to be happy? Besides he had never even met Princess Tiramisu!

Richard sighed deeply. Why did he always have to let his feelings control him? At the end of the day, the princess had the right to choose who she wanted to marry. No matter how unfair it might have seemed, no matter how much he had invested in their alliance in terms of time and resources, he couldn’t force her to reciprocate his feelings.

In the end, he had been the one who had suggested that Prince Comal should be the hero who would save the day while he humbly stepped down and accepted his own passive role in the plan. Even if it was humiliating, he had to prioritize protecting everybody.

But that didn’t mean that his heart would hurt less when he ended up alone. Richard thought about how a mermaid had no tears and suddenly felt grateful for his own ability to cry.

When Tiramisu woke up after her wedding night, she had fallen off the bed. She had a terrible nightmare about Richard drowning himself in the ocean because of his broken heart.

Prince Comal seemed to have disappeared from the surface of the earth. Tiramisu felt ashamed at first and looked down at the now dried bloodstains that were covering the sheets. Maybe she went too far last night and scared him away.

But then she noticed that the Snake Killer was still in the chamber. The princess felt her blood run cold. Prince Comal would never leave without his sword. The princess pulled it out of its sheath and noticed that he still hadn’t washed away Richard’s blood. He had desperately clung onto the last piece of Richard that still existed. Tiramisu felt her eyes fill up with tears as she mourned the deceased prince who had always made her laugh and been there for her.

Tiramisu kissed the tip of the sword and made her final decision. She would join forces with her cousin Princess Zelda of Hyrule. People usually didn’t believe her when she told them that she was related to the beautiful princess. The only thing they had in common in terms of appearance was their golden hair and long ears.

But they both loved their people and wanted to protect their countries. Maybe it was finally time for the princesses to become queens and take responsibility for their own kingdoms.

When Princess Tiramisu had arrived at the sanctuary, many Hylians had already evacuated. Many areas had been flooded by the rain and the thunder was roaring. The witch princess felt ashamed that she hadn’t tried to help earlier.

The giant flying whale was hovering over their heads and let out a horrifying cry that made Tiramisu’s blood run cold. Thankfully, she had enhanced Polnareff with her magic which had made him much bigger and faster. When a tentacle had tried to grab her, Polnareff had easily ripped it into pieces with his sharp beak.

Princess Zelda hadn’t been easy to convince when they had arrived at the shrine. She was too scared of losing contact with Link. He was still alive out at the ocean but he didn’t seem to have a physical form in the dream world anymore. But despite that his consciousness was still tied to the dreaming island somehow. Zelda still hadn’t been able to figure out how and why.

\- “The time has come for us to fight!” yelled Tiramisu who was surprised by how brave she sounded.

Zelda's face paled and she looked down at her knees. She had never been much of a fighter even if she possessed powerful magic. But then again, maybe she didn’t have to engage in close combat.

\- “She is just making up excuses.” mumbled the witch and clenched her fists.

Polnareff laughed but he just sounded like a dying cat. Feathers littered the floor as he flapped his wings and stepped all over the expensive carpet with his muddy feet.

\- “Look who is talking! This is why I said you needed a brave man to protect you.” cawed the vulture.

Tiramisu decided that she had heard enough of the birdbrain’s chatter and put a rubber band around his beak. Finally some peace and quiet!

Tiramisu saw a confused little red bird that had taken shelter from the rainstorm. She used her magic and made the bird grow larger and gave her a more powerful beak. When Zelda’s gaze locked with the bird’s, she suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

Zelda mounted the bird and the princesses flew towards the giant infected whale. Tiramisu immobilized the whale with her magic wand and Zelda used her magic to try to contact the island girl once again. Suddenly a blurry image appeared before them, like some kind of hologram.

Tiramisu gasped when she saw the giant snake coiled around the sacred Wind Fish’s Egg. Richard seemed to be unconscious and was floating around in the water inside of the egg. She felt relieved that the prince was still alive but also very, very confused.

\- “That is my husband!” yelled Princess Tiramisu and pointed at the fearsome giant snake.

Princess Zelda almost lost her focus. She still had her eyes closed but her jaw dropped.

\- “Why would a princess get married to a snake!?”


	22. The Parody Palace

When Richard was really little, he had seen the portraits of the monarchs who had ruled over the Custard Kingdom in the past. They were all women except for Prince Richard himself.

It had been a tradition in the family to wear matching green nail polish which symbolized the island’s beautiful untouched nature. Green was a colour that had a lot of power and represented the adventurous women in the family who hadn’t been afraid to make risky choices.

Naturally, Richard had wanted to be just like his ancestors. So he had borrowed a small bottle of emerald green nail polish from one of the maids and carefully painted his nails, one by one. At first he had messed up but eventually he got the hang of it and ended up with a really nice manicure that he had been very proud of.

Unfortunately, the captain didn’t agree. When he had seen Richard’s glamorous nails, he had been furious with the small prince. He had forcefully grabbed his hand and tried to wash away the nail polish with water and soap. The captain had berated him and said that he was a disgrace to the whole kingdom.

Richard cried as his fingers were burned by the hot water. He desperately tried to explain to the captain that he needed acetone to remove the nail polish. Eventually he had been sent back to his chamber where he had collapsed onto the floor and cried in shame.

The distraught prince looked down at his nails and at the bottle with nail polish remover. Suddenly, he felt rebellious and grabbed a pair of leather gloves and hid his beautiful manicure.

Even if nobody could admire his nails anymore, it felt like he had at least won a small victory. When he got older and the maids had told everybody how the prince had tried to paint his nails when he was little, Richard had just smiled mischievously and pretended to be embarrassed.

When he had been training with Prince Comal, he had completely forgotten about his nails. When the other prince had caught a glimpse of them, Richard had freaked out. But the other prince had just told him that he had beautiful hands. Then he had regretted his words and quickly turned around blushing, as if he had accidentally admitted something embarrassing.

Even if it was vain, Richard really missed his nails. They had been the first thing that the possessed captain had removed after he had been captured and locked up in his own castle.

When Richard woke up he didn’t know where he was. It looked like he was in a jail cell again but he didn’t recognize the interior of the castle. His head was spinning and he almost felt the urge to vomit. He tried his best to wipe away his long hair. Richard wished that Marin had been there to hold it back while he threw up.

Then he saw the captain who was holding onto his spiky iron ball. Richard gasped at the sight of his tormentor. Then the former prince realized that his voice was very high. He blushed and bit his lip. But to Richard’s surprise, the captain had smiled at him.

\- “Don’t worry, princess. I will keep you safe from the intruder.” said Captain Viscen in a kind and fatherly voice.

Richard’s jaw dropped when he saw his own reflection in the captain’s golden armour. The former prince had long golden hair and was wearing a small diamond tiara. For some strange reason he also had a large pair of fairy wings. Richard looked down at his hands and realized to his surprise that the miserable remains of his nails had been replaced with long fake nails.

Before Richard had a chance to collect himself, he saw Link emerge from the shadows. The muscular captain roared and readied his weapon. A fight broke out between the two men and blood was shed. The elf screamed that he would avenge his dead uncle and rescue the princess. Richard had never realized before how unsightly men looked when they were angry and gritted their teeth.

When the captain had once again been defeated by the elf boy, Link kneeled down and asked Richard if he had seen Princess Zelda and if he was one of the seven maidens. Richard had never felt more confused in his whole life.

\- “I might look like this but I’m still me!” argued Richard and was suddenly overcome with a sense of déjà vu.

Where had he heard those words before? Had Princess Tiramisu said that after she had transformed? Richard had always bragged about how beautiful his princess was but he had meant that as a compliment. The former prince suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Link blushed and seemed to have been completely side-tracked from his original mission. He smiled at Richard and chuckled. At this point Richard just felt annoyed and asked what was so funny. The elf boy asked if Richard was a princess from a foreign land.

\- “It’s just…” Link stuttered and looked down in embarrassment. “You’re very beautiful.”

Suddenly the door swung open and the Prince of Sablé appeared. He was wearing a blue cape that Richard had never seen him wear before. Had he borrowed one of Richard’s old capes? The former prince could have sworn that he had seen it before.

The Prince Comal’s face was twisted into a weird grimace. He looked both angry and hurt. With tears in his eyes, he pointed at Richard angrily.

\- “I worked so hard to rescue her from the snake and this is how she repays me!? By cheating on me with another man!” bellowed the furious prince.

Richard still felt confused but then realized that the other prince was talking about him. But for some strange reason, he couldn’t help but feel bad. Even though what he was saying was completely illogical, the other prince’s voice had sounded so hurt. Prince Comal sounded like he was going to burst into tears.

How was he going to tell him that he had just misunderstood everything without ruining their friendship and hurting his feelings? Richard felt uneasy and wrapped a strand of his long blonde hair around his finger.

Without asking for his consent, the two men had battled for Richard’s love. At first, the situation seemed so ridiculous that Richard couldn’t even take it seriously. But then Prince Comal’s sword stabbed Link’s eye. The elf screamed in pain and collapsed onto the floor.

Richard sobbed as he watched Link’s blood cover the whole floor. Prince Comal sat down and gently stroked Richard’s beautiful hair. His voice sounded lower than usual. It almost sounded like Richard’s own voice.

\- “Don’t cry, princess. The castaway can’t hurt you anymore. I will always be by your side and protect you.” whispered Prince Comal softly in his ear.

Richard felt sick in his stomach when he watched Prince Comal’s hair shift into a deeper shade of blue. Soon he looked almost undistinguishable from Richard. As his doppelganger leaned in to kiss him, Richard desperately tried to squirm himself out of his grip.

\- “This is just another nightmare…” whispered Richard to himself as his golden hair fell like a curtain over his face.

Suddenly Prince Comal transformed into Delarin. He coiled himself around the distressed prince who looked like a princess and hissed at him.

\- “Dreams are just a reflection of your secret desires, Prince Richard. The whole time you just wanted the princess to yourself. Did you even care about the lives lost in the war?” hissed Delarin in his ear.

Richard felt his consciousness slip away as the world went black. But the darkness almost felt comforting. In the void the rules of society didn’t matter anymore. Although he had to admit that he felt a little lonely.

In the eyes of the snake he saw the reflection of the witch princess he had once loved. How had the princess felt when the snake had threatened to devour her along with the rest of her kingdom?

Richard wondered how his beloved witch had felt the moment she had realized that she would never be able to pull out the sword and protect her non-existent best friend. Why couldn’t he have been that kind of friend to her?

Suddenly Richard heard Marin’s voice calling for him and woke up from his nightmare. She hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes as she rocked him back and forth. Richard couldn’t feel his arms or his legs anymore.

\- “Soon there will be no more nightmares.” announced the Prince of Sablé and lowered his large snake head into the egg.

That was the moment when the Wind Fish’s Egg finally shattered.


	23. The Dream Prince

\- “Can you keep a secret?”

The young prince Richard looked unsure of himself. He bit his lip and looked down at his feet. The young princess Tiramisu was shocked by this display of shyness. She had seen the prince flustered before but usually he was more confident than this. Tiramisu cocked her head and whispered softly.

\- “Of course.”

She took his hand and giggled when his face turned redder than a tomato. The young couple walked through the paradise island in silence. Spending summer vacation on the island was like a dream come true. A majestic tropical bird flew past them and the princess gaped in awe.

\- “Wow, that is amazing!” laughed the witch princess and let go of Richard’s hand.

Richard watched her dance among the tropical flowers with a sad smile on his face. When the princess saw his dejected expression, she stopped in her tracks.

\- “What is the matter?” asked the worried princess. “Do you feel ill?”

The small prince shook his head sadly. They kept walking in silence and eventually arrived at the ancient ruins. The princess jumped in surprise when one of the statues came to life but the prince bravely protected her with his sword. He grabbed her hand and ran towards the shrine.

Inside the shrine it was too dark to see anything. Tiramisu walked up to a large mural that looked very old while Richard was trying to light the torches with his matches. The little witch touched the rough surface of the mural and suddenly felt a wave of nausea overcome her.

Suddenly the room was bright enough to read the text written on the mural. Tiramisu had her back turned to the prince as she read the mural. She read the mural over and over again until the torches went out. Finally the small prince broke the silence.

\- “Since you are going to be my bride one day, I figured that it was better to tell you the truth now.” explained the small prince who suddenly sounded like a man.

He grabbed her hand and Tiramisu was surprised when she realized that her hands had gotten smaller. Or maybe it was his hands that had gotten bigger?

\- “Do you still like me, Misu?” Richard tried and failed to suppress a sob. “Even though I’m not real…?”

The witch princess woke up from her flashback when Princess Zelda shouted at her. She jumped in surprise because she had never heard her cousin raise her voice before.

\- “I think I have reached the island girl!” yelled Princess Zelda.

She grabbed both of other princess’ hands and leaned over until their foreheads touched. Tiramisu could feel Polnareff shifting uncomfortably under her due to the strong winds from the possessed leviathan.

Suddenly they were transported to the Southern Face Shrine. Tiramisu instantly recognized the cursed shrine that she had desperately tried to forget for so many years. The princess had been in denial about her dear friend’s cruel fate and tried her best not to think about it. When Prince Comal had yelled at her at the boat she had quickly darted back into their chamber and cried into her pillow.

Tiramisu’s eyes met with the songstress’ eyes. She looked very exotic with a red hibiscus in her strawberry blonde hair and her ocean blue summer dress. The witch sighed. Yet another beauty.

\- “Who are you!?” asked Marin angrily. “Where is _my_ prince?”

For some reason Tiramisu couldn’t help but feel a little weird. Princess Zelda had watched the couple with the help of her telepathic powers. She had told Tiramisu all about Richard’s new lover. Even though she had been the one who had rejected him, it still felt weird to imagine him with another girl so soon after they had gone separate ways.

Tiramisu still remembered her first kiss. Richard had blushed and been really nervous when he asked if it was really OK to kiss her. He had tasted so sweet, like a mixture of vanilla and strawberries. When she had put her tongue in his mouth, the young prince had felt overwhelmed and broke the kiss. The little witch had laughed until her stomach hurt when she saw him blushing furiously.

Tiramisu cleared her throat and spoke up. She told Marin all about her true identity as a princess. The princess handed the Snake Killer over to the confused songstress and explained that Prince Comal had to be stopped before the kingdom of Hyrule was flooded. Marin cocked her head and eyed Tiramisu from head to toe.

\- “You’re different than I imagined…” mumbled Marin.

Despite herself she couldn’t help but smile. She had been so worried that her prince had only seen her as a replacement. Marin never wanted to be a replacement for somebody else; she just wanted to be loved for who she was.

Before she knew it, Marin was transported back to the Wind Fish’s Egg. She knew that she had to try to awaken the Wind Fish and put an end to the island’s existence once and for all.

But before Tiramisu had faded away she had suggested that Marin should use the Sea Lily’s Bell to wake up the Wind Fish and make a wish to save everybody. Marin felt anxious and wondered if it would really work. Tiramisu had just shook her head sadly and responded that it was at least worth a try.

Marin looked up at Prince Comal who was still transformed into a giant snake. How would she be able to get past him?

When Prince Comal saw the Snake Killer in Marin’s hands, his eyes widened and he hissed at her. Even though she should probably feel sorry for him, the songstress couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his large fangs.

\- “Are you going to beat me up with my own weapon!?” hissed the snake prince. “You can’t be serious!”

Marin desperately pleaded for mercy but the heartbroken prince was too enraged to listen to reason. Prince Comal bared his fangs and leapt forward so fast that Marin barely had time to dodge the attack. Suddenly the sword lit up and Marin gasped as the light blinded both of their eyes.

Prince Comal’s eyes suddenly filled with tears when he thought about how hard he had worked to find the Snake Killer. Every night during his journey through the Mille-Feuille Kingdom, he had been plagued by nightmares. He had seen Richard die in his dreams over and over again and woken up screaming. At the time he had never guessed that his dreams would become reality.

\- “It doesn’t belong to you!” cried Prince Comal as his chest filled with anger and jealousy. “It is only meant for me and Richard!”

Marin was finally forced to accept the fact that she wouldn’t be able to reason with her prince’s dear friend. But if it defeating him was necessary to save everybody from suffering, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

Marin prepared herself for the final battle and quietly apologized to her beautiful sleeping prince. Because love takes many different shapes and she wasn’t sure if her love for the prince was stronger than the love the Prince of the Sablé felt towards him.


	24. Good Night, Sweet Prince

Richard felt his consciousness slip away and soon fell into a deep sleep. Even though he was trying to force his heavy eyelids open and concentrate on the present, his thoughts kept escaping into his comforting childhood memories. A time when he still had his innocence and everything had seemed so simple.

It was a peaceful morning and the young Prince Richard was lying in the tall grass, surrounded by the most beautiful blue flowers. Prince Comal had almost dozed off and was curled up beside him. Winter never came to Koholint Island, making it seem like an eternal summer vacation.

Richard was reading “Journey In Blue” a novel by the Danish author, Stig Dalager. The book was a fictional story about Hans Christian Andersen on his deathbed. Prince Comal had tried to take a peek but the book was entirely written in Danish so the young prince had not understood a single word of it.

\- “Why do you always have to be so overambitious?” sighed Prince Comal.

Richard giggled and recalled the memory of his first meeting with the Prince of Sablé. The young Richard had been so puzzled when Prince Comal had opened his mouth and started talking non-stop in French. Unfortunately Richard didn’t understand a single word. That was when his passion for foreign languages was born.

Nowadays foreign languages served no other purpose than to remind Richard of his own isolation. On Koholint Island there was no reason to communicate with the outside world. After all, the outside world didn’t exist anymore.

Or maybe it was the other way around. There were times when Richard got paranoid and started wondering if his memories of Prince Comal were nothing but a figment of his own imagination. What if he just had been so lonely that he had dreamed up an imaginary friend?

But Richard still missed the sound of Prince Comal’s voice. The villagers often thought he was just being obnoxious when he would suddenly say random phrases in French. But Richard just couldn’t help himself. The prince was worried that one day, he might actually forget every single word he had ever learned in French.

Maybe John Donne had been right when he wrote “No man is an island”. Despite the fact that Richard had always been an introvert, the loneliness was slowly suffocating him. Humans really do badly in isolation.

Light snores could be heard from Prince Comal. Richard had told him to go play at the beach instead because he really wanted to finish his novel. Prince Comal had just pouted and said that he hadn’t travelled all the way here to play on the beach alone and get attacked by the crabs and Like Likes. Richard just shrugged and said that the monsters didn’t do any harm as long as you left them alone.

\- “But I just want to be with you…” mumbled the young prince, so quietly that Richard didn’t hear him.

Richard had gotten to the part when Edvard Collin pays Hans Christian Andersen one last visit. With his back turned, Collin was shaking his head and wondered what to do with Andersen who was neither like a man or a woman. In his mind Andersen had crept up on his dear friend and stabbed him with a knife just like how the character he had created, the Little Mermaid had tried to stab her prince.

Being the critical thinker that he was, Richard had decided to do some research. He found out that there was an autobiography about Andersen based on the letters he had sent to Collin. But parts of it had been cut and censored. Because they were love letters that Andersen had sent to Collin whom he had harbored unrequited feelings for. Collin was getting married to a woman, leaving the depressed Andersen heartbroken.

Richard had been shocked when he had found out that the fairy-tale from his childhood had somehow gone from being a tragic love story between two men to a romantic tale about a man and a woman living happily ever after.

When he had asked his grandfather why the love letters had been cut from the autobiography, the old man had just sighed and kneeled down to his level.

\- “I am grateful that I have been blessed with such a kind-hearted and intelligent grandson.”

He didn’t really answer his question but Richard never brought it up again. Because he had understood that the world wasn’t always fair. Everybody lies sometimes, it is the only truth.

When Prince Comal yawned loudly, Richard jumped in surprise. He had been so engrossed in his novel that he hadn’t heard his friend wake up. Prince Comal had picked a whole bouquet of the blue flowers. “Silent Princess” was a flower that couldn’t properly develop and blossom in captivity. When the island had been closed off from the rest of the world, the species had gone extinct.

Prince Comal had made a flower crown for Richard because he had once said that it was his favourite flower. With a goofy smile on his face Prince Comal had put the flower crown on Richard’s head. Since Richard’s hair had a life of its own, it hadn’t been an easy task. Richard groaned when he noticed that the flower crown was full of bees. The other prince just stuck out his tongue and said that it was his punishment for ignoring him.

Then Prince Comal had picked him up like a princess and carried him all the way to the beach. Because it was summer and Richard could save his book for a rainy day.

Even though Richard lived on a tropical island, he never tanned because he had sun allergy. Sometimes he couldn’t help but admire Prince Comal’s lovely honey brown tan. When he got back to the castle later that evening, his skin was bright red due to the sunburn even though Prince Comal had helped him apply several layers of sun lotion. The other prince had mumbled an apology but then gave him a weak smile.

\- “But aren’t you happy that we went outside today?” asked Prince Comal.

Richard suddenly felt warm on the inside. Suddenly his aching skin seemed like a minor nuisance. He giggled and threw a pillow at his friend. The two princes laughed as an intense pillow fight broke out.

\- “This is war!” cried Prince Comal and threw a pillow so hard at Richard that he fell off the bed.

But Richard never hit the floor; he just kept falling and falling. Finally he felt something wet. He had woken up in the Wind Fish’s Egg and was surrounded by water.

Richard mustered all of his last strength and tried to sit up. Ignoring his aching head and the ringing in his ears, he looked around the egg and was met with a horrifying sight.

The two people he loved the most were fighting. Marin held up the Snake Killer to deliver one final blow to Prince Comal while the snake prince went for the kill and aimed at the songstress' neck.

\- “STOP!!!” screamed Prince Richard and threw himself between the two.

It had all happened so fast that Richard had barely felt the pain as the Snake Killer stabbed his abdomen and Prince Comal’s teeth dug into his neck, causing poison to pour into his blood.

It was a fast and painless death.

As Prince Comal cried in despair and desperately tried to get out his fangs that had gotten stuck in Richard’s lifeless body, Marin hesitated for a brief moment. She tried not to listen to Prince Comal's blood curdling screams as he cradled his dead friend's body.

Then she ran as fast as she could towards the stairs. Before she had time to regret her decision, she rang the Sea Lily’s Bell. When the bell tolled, the sorrowful sound could be heard across the whole island. It sounded like a church bell at a funeral.

When the majestic Wind Fish appeared before her, Marin shut her eyes tightly, clasped her hands together and prayed with all of her heart. When she closed her eyes she could see her prince’s handsome face. She wanted to protect that smile.

The songstress of Koholint Island made her final wish.

\- “I want everybody to be reincarnated in the real world!”

Marin’s heart felt like it was going to pop right out of her chest. She had finally decided to make a selfless wish. But after all she had been through; she couldn’t help but feel like she deserved a reward.

\- “When I am reborn, I want my prince to always stay by my side.”

Suddenly Marin felt her feet lift off the ground as a heavenly light enveloped her. She yelped in surprise when she took off towards the sky. Suddenly two beautiful women appeared before her.

One of them had fiery red hair and strong muscular arms. She grinned and danced over to Marin. As the goddess showed off her pirouettes, her muscles twitched and caused the whole island to float up from the ocean and into the sky.

\- “I am Din. I am one of the daughters of the air.” explained the dancer. “And one of the three goddesses. I created the landmass of the world.”

Before the flabbergasted songstress had time to process what was going on, a youthful looking green haired beauty appeared before her. In a high pitched and childlike voice the other goddess introduced herself.

\- “And I am Farore. The goddess who created every lifeform on the planet.” explained the small girl.

She giggled, grabbed Marin’s hand and shook it cheerfully. Then she turned around and made every soul on the dreaming island envelope in a bright light. Din winked at Marin.

\- “We couldn’t just leave you like that.” laughed Din. “Don’t worry about the Wind Fish. He is such an old coot…”

Farore nodded her head in agreement and gave Marin a reassuring hug.

\- “Yeah, he is kind of an asshole. He is probably a baby boomer.” said the small goddess who didn’t see the owl appear behind her.

The two goddesses laughed nervously when the wise owl gave them a piercing glare. Then he cleared his throat and turned his attention to the songstress.

\- “Young Marin, don’t be alarmed. Look at yourself!”

Marin looked down at her hands and realized that she was no longer an ordinary island girl. Her hair had changed into the same ocean blue colour as her beloved prince’s and she had gotten much taller. Hopefully Prince Richard wouldn’t mind the height difference when he was reincarnated.

Marin had become Nayru, the goddess of wisdom who had created the vast blue sky. With her immortal soul, she now ruled over time itself.

Marin brought out her golden harp and started singing. It was the very same harp that she had used to teach the young prince how to play all those years ago. She had waited for him to return to the animal village but he never came back. Marin wondered what her life would have been like if he had been her childhood friend instead.

When Din saw Marin’s mischievous smile, she raised an eyebrow. Farore blushed and covered her mouth to prevent herself from breaking into a fit of laughter. The old and jaded ocean king sighed.

\- “I guess we better get to work then.” smiled Din. “You seem to have a lot of ideas.”

Farore couldn’t contain herself anymore and started giggling hysterically.

\- “And quite an active imagination!”

Marin smiled as the three goddesses began to create a new world where everybody could live happily.

\- "Just wait for me, my prince."


	25. The Mermaid Gets Her Voice Back

\- “Oh no, I just lost my best friend…”

Prince Comal’s chest felt hollow. When Richard had confronted him about selfishly wasting all of his money on the only available potion, he had been so confused. When the witch had offered him the potion he hadn’t thought about Richard at all.

After Delarin’s defeat Richard had apologized and said that it was just a part of the plan that he had come up with together with the princess. If he hadn’t yelled at him, he wouldn’t have been motivated to go mining for gold in the first place. Without the Snake Killer, Richard and his soldiers would have died and their countries would have been invaded.

But it still felt strange somehow. Why couldn’t he and Richard have worked together to solve the problem? Did Richard really need to become a victim in order to motivate him?

Prince Comal looked down at Richard’s lifeless corpse. Aside from the blood covering him, he almost looked like he was asleep. He looked so vulnerable when he laid there. Prince Comal couldn’t believe that this was the man whom he had envied so much. In his eyes, the other prince had seemed like an unobtainable ideal.

When the witch princess had given him a “stress relieving” nightmare, he had seen the idealized version of Prince Richard together with Princess Tiramisu. With his trophy wife, he would outshine Prince Comal once and for all.

Now Prince Comal couldn’t help but feel disgusted with himself. He couldn’t believe that he had created such an unrealistic picture in his mind. A fantasy in which Princess Tiramisu was nothing but a submissive damsel in distress and Prince Richard was never vulnerable or emotional. They had become like cardboard cut-outs.

Prince Comal stroked Richard’s cheek. At this point he had almost become completely transparent. The mourning prince couldn’t believe that he would never see his friend again.

Prince Comal leaned over and gave Richard a good-night kiss. Just like in a fairy-tale Richard slowly opened his eyes. Prince Comal thought that he must have been dreaming.

Richard’s voice was very weak when he spoke.

\- “Please…” whispered the dying prince.

Prince Comal panicked and grabbed his hand. He squeezed it tightly.

\- “Richard! No, please don’t talk. You have to save your strength.” cried Prince Comal.

Once again Prince Comal picked him up and carried him princess style. Normally Richard hated when he did that but he was too weak to protest.

\- “At least let me die with some dignity…” sighed Richard as Prince Comal carried him all the way up the stairs.

When they arrived at the top, Prince Comal realized that they had reached a dead end. There was nothing but a dark and endless abyss. Prince Comal’s knees no longer had the strength to carry him and he collapsed onto the platform.

\- “Isn’t this place beautiful?” smiled Prince Richard. “I wanted to share it with you.”

Prince Comal burrowed his nose in Richard’s hair and cried softly. He was desperately clinging onto Richard as if he believed that if he hugged him tightly enough, he wouldn’t fall apart.

After a deafening silence, Richard finally spoke up.

\- “You have to go back to the real world.”

Prince Comal shook his head sadly. At this point Richard was covered in his snot and tears.

\- “No! I’m not going to leave you here all alone!”

Richard sighed. Prince Comal could be such a moron sometimes but he had a pure heart. If Richard had been a princess he would have married him in a heartbeat.

\- “Do you know how the story of the Little Mermaid ends?” asked Richard and tried to wink.

Prince Comal looked confused for a second. Then he blew his nose on his sleeve. Richard laughed and wrinkled his nose.

\- “I think it ended with the mermaid getting her voice back. The evil witch had just hypnotized the prince into being her slave and forced him into an unhappy marriage.”

Even though he was staring death in the eye, Richard had a fit of laughter.

\- “Damn! You really did regret marrying her, didn’t you!?”

Prince Comal shifted uncomfortably. He was so ashamed of himself that he just wanted to sink through the floor.

\- “I’m so sorry, Richard.” apologized Prince Comal who looked sadder than a hurt puppy. “I couldn’t even let you be happy with the woman you loved before you passed away.”

Richard tried to wipe away his friend’s tears with the back of his hand. Then he gave his cute little nose a playful pinch.

\- “When you say that with your baby face, you’re just making me feel worse.” giggled Richard.

Slowly a small smile appeared on Prince Comal’s lips.

\- “Even in the end, you’re still an asshole.” smiled Prince Comal as Richard continued to pinch his cheeks.

Before Richard had a chance to respond to his friend’s playful insults, a bright light enveloped him. As Prince Comal was blinded by the heavenly light, Richard slipped out of his embrace.

\- “Richard! Please don’t go!” cried Prince Comal.

For some reason Richard didn’t feel afraid. When he basked in the light, he could feel two invisible arms wrap around him.

_Marin?_

Richard looked down at his dear friend and took a deep breath.

\- “Did I tell you how the Little Mermaid ended?”

Prince Comal shook his head and swallowed hard.

\- “When the mermaid failed to win the prince’s heart, she was turned into sea foam at dawn.” explained Richard.

His friend looked down in shame once again.

\- “Are you saying that you’re the same as the mermaid?” whispered Prince Comal and tried his best to not burst into tears again.

Richard chuckled and shook his head.

\- “But then the creator of the Little Mermaid realized that he identified so much with her that he decided to give her a less tragic ending.” continued the former prince.

Richard could feel the goddess’ embrace tighten. There was no time left but Marin’s spirit still waited patiently for her prince to say good-bye to his dear friend.

\- “With her immortal soul, she rose to the heavens and became one of the daughters of the air. She continued to watch over the mortal world after she ascended to a higher plane.”

Prince Comal, who had never been all that deep, sighed as he listened to Richard’s rant. Do all artists sound like this?

\- “What the hell are you talking about, Richard?” asked the confused prince.

Richard gave Prince Comal one final smile. Suddenly it felt like spring had arrived, like he had been woken up from a long slumber. For the first time in forever Richard felt hopeful towards the future.

\- “It means that one day we will see each other again!”

Suddenly a surge of water washed over Prince Comal. With tears in his eyes and a fire burning in his chest, the Prince of Sablé reached out towards his friend. As their fingertips touched, he made one final vow.

\- “Please, don’t ever forget about me!” cried Prince Comal. “I will find you, no matter where you are or how many years it will take! I promise you from the bottom of my heart!”

When Prince Comal woke up again he was lying on a raft in the middle of the ocean. A blond man was sitting right next to him. His long and elf-like ears looked just like Princess Tiramisu's.

\- “It is a little bit cramped on here, isn’t it?” laughed Link. “I’m glad that you finally regained your conciousness. I was starting to worry that you would never wake up.”

Prince Comal looked around and saw nothing but ocean. He cocked his head and studied the elf dressed in green. Link flashed him a smile full of white teeth.

\- “Are you perhaps, Prince Comal of the Sablé Kingdom? Richard told me all about you!”

Prince Comal couldn’t help but blush. Had Richard really missed him that much?

\- “Does he talk about me a lot?” asked the Prince of Sablé.

Link laughed and started putting on his Zora flippers. He sighed wistfully.

\- “He talks about you all the time! I wish I had a childhood friend to compete with like that.” laughed Link.

Prince Comal just realized that his feet were touching the water but he wasn’t transformed. He touched his lips. Had the witch's curse been lifted after he had kissed Richard?

_True love._

The realization suddenly dawned on him. The real reason why he had been so unhappy with his marriage with the beautiful princess.

Then he gulped nervously. How was he going to get back home? He still didn’t know how to swim…

\- “I was training on my own before I got caught up in this whole mess and it would have been nice to have a rival to motivate me.” continued the clueless Link who seemed oddly happy even though they were stranded in the middle of the ocean.

Finally Link noticed Prince Comal’s distraught expression. He asked if Prince Comal didn’t know how to swim and the young prince blushed and nodded quietly.

Link thought about it for a second and suddenly he got an idea. He rummaged through all of the junk in his inventory and pulled out a mermaid suit.

\- “It looks like it’s your lucky day today!” laughed the green hero. “I just found this weird object floating around in the water. I thought it looked kind of gross and slimy so I didn’t try it on but it seems to be a perfect fit for you.”

Prince Comal hesitantly slipped into the mermaid suit and was suddenly overcome with a sense of déjà vu. Had Richard left behind his mermaid tail for him so that he would be able to safely get back to the Sablé Kingdom?

Prince Comal felt his eyes fill up with tears. Ugh, was he going to cry again? He had to stay positive if he ever wanted to find his dear friend again.

\- “I guess the mermaid always saves the prince!” joked Link and dove into the ocean.

Link couldn’t wait to see his beloved princess again. Hopefully she would forgive him for having a secret love affair with a dreamy girl who was obsessed with seagulls. Although he was glad that he could finally call himself a hero again. Being the villain and commiting genocide on an island didn't suit the hero of Hyrule.

Prince Comal embraced the mermaid tail and kissed each and every scale. It still smelled like Richard. The scent made him recall a distant childhood memory that he had forgotten about.

\- “Oh, Richard…”

The Prince of Sablé cried over his lost friend. The only thing that remained now was his regrets.

He wished that he would have been honest with his feelings for him.

A prince who harbours unrequited feelings for a mermaid.

_How ironic!_


End file.
